United States
                       Securities and Exchange Commission
                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 6-K

                        Report of Foreign Private Issuer
                        Pursuant To Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
                                     of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


                                For the month of


                                  October 2002


                        Valley of the Doce River Company
                 (Translation of Registrant's name into English)



                          Avenida Graca Aranha, No. 26
                      20005-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
                     (Address of principal executive office)



(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)

                    (Check One) Form 20-F  X   Form 40-F
                                          ---            ---


(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing information to the Commission
pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)

                           (Check One) Yes      No  X
                                           ---     ---

(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b). 82-___.)



This current report on Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into
the Registration Statement on Form F-4 of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and
Vale Overseas Limited, File No. 333-84696.





[COMPANHIA VALE DO RIO DOCE LOGO OMITTED]                          Press Release


                    Public Offer to Minority Shareholders of
                        Companhia Paulista de Ferro Ligas

Rio de Janeiro, October 2, 2002 - Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) informs that
it has approved a new price for the shares buyback of its subsidiary Companhia
Paulista de Ferro Ligas (CPFL). The new buyback price for CPFL shares will be R$
15,80 per share, 31,4% above the previous buyback price of R$ 12,02 per share,
announced on August 29, 2001. The buyback price of R$ 15,80 per share will be
adjusted by the Referential Rate (TR), calculated on a pro rata die basis, from
September 2, 2002 until the financial settlement date of the auction, which will
be held at the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (BOVESPA).

CVRD aims to acquire 620,430 shares, representing 6.1723% of CPFL total capital
held by minority shareholders, and therefore promote its delisting. The public
notification for acquisition of minority interest is under the appreciation of
the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).

The buyback price of R$ 15.80 for each CPFL share, is 45.5% above the average
price of the last 30 trading sessions (R$ 10.86) and 7.9% above its book value
per share as of June 30, 2002 (R$ 14.65). Thus, the price fixed by CVRD
represents a good opportunity for CPFL minority shareholders to realize gains
with this asset which, due to the small free float, has a very low liquidity.

Once the public notification for acquisition of minority interest of CPFL is
approved by CVM, CVRD will announce all the relevant information concerning the
delisting of the mentioned company.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                        For further information, please contact:
           Roberto Castello Branco: castello.branco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4540
                         Andreia Reis: andreia.reis@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4643
                     Barbara Geluda: barbara.geluda@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4557
                     Daniela Tinoco: daniela.tinoco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4946
                     Rafael Azevedo: rafael.azevedo@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4700

This press release may contain statements that express management's expectations
about future events or results rather than historical facts. These
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking
statements, and CVRD cannot give assurance that such statements will prove
correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors: relating to the
Brazilian economy and securities markets, which exhibit volatility and can be
adversely affected by developments in other countries; relating to the iron ore
business and its dependence on the global steel industry, which is cyclical in
nature; and relating to the highly competitive industries in which CVRD
operates. For additional information on factors that could cause CVRD's actual
results to differ from expectations reflected in forward-looking statements,
please see CVRD's reports filed with the Brazilian Comissao de Valores
Mobiliarios and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.




                                   SIGNATURES




Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                                            COMPANHIA VALE DO RIO DOCE
                                                    (Registrant)


Date:  October 3, 2002

                                            By: /s/ Fabio de Oliveira Barbosa
                                                -----------------------------
                                                Fabio de Oliveira Barbosa
                                                Chief Financial Officer