RIO DE JANEIRO, July 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian miner Vale

on Tuesday pledged to "proceed swiftly" to replace

two independent board members who have resigned in the last few

months, one citing allegations of political influence in the CEO

succession plan.

The departure of Vera Marie Inkster on Monday, which

followed the resignation of Jose Penido in March, left Vale's

board with six independent members, below the seven required by

the firm's bylaws.

It was not immediately clear if failure to meet the bylaw

requirement could prevent the board to function normally.

The new members to be appointed will serve until the next

extraordinary shareholder meeting, which will be convened later,

Vale said in a securities filing. They will be selected with

assistance from consultancy firm Korn Ferry ( KFY ).

Without Penido and Marie Inkster, Vale's board now has 11

members.

Their resignations came at an important time for the mining

giant, as the board plans the succession process for the

company's chief executive, Eduardo Bartolomeo, whose term ends

later this year.

Inkster left after disagreements within the board in a

meeting on Friday, during which the members were presented with

conclusions of an independent investigation into procedures

taken during the ongoing succession plan, according to a source.

On Friday, Vale had announced in a securities filing

that law firm TozziniFreire had concluded Vale's governance

process regarding Bartolomeo's succession did comply with the

firm's bylaws.

Upon leaving the company, board member Penido sent a letter

to Vale's chairman harshly criticizing the succession process,

citing allegations of political influence in decisions,

according to the document seen by Reuters.

Vale did not provide the reasons for Inkster's departure

when it announced her resignation on Monday.