The Bolivian government has postponed the signing of the final contract with China’s Sinosteel for the building of a steel and iron ore complex in the South American country due to the lack of a necessary certification, an official said.
According to Bolivia’s mining minister, Cesar Navarro, the final deal was postponed until Sinosteel present a Chinese certification that proves it’s a regular company in the Asian country.
The Bolivian government expects Sinosteel to have the certification in 10 business days.
China’s Sinosteel was recently chosen by the Bolivian government to develop the Mutún steel and iron ore project.
After stepping back in its previous decision in late 2015 to accept the same contractor, the Bolivian government gave one more chance for the two companies competing in the public tender to make their proposals.
Directors of state-run company Empresa Siderurgica del Mutún (ESM) elected with six votes Sinosteel as the company which will develop the steel and iron project. The second company competing in the public tender, Henan, received just one vote at the time.
ESM expects to meet up to 60 percent of the country’s demand for steel. The Mutún iron and steel complex project includes concentration, pelletizing and direct reduction plants, which would be attached to a rolling mill. The rolling mill would be able to produce 150,000 mt of non-flat finished steel. Once the plant is ready to start up, Bolivia could save up to $230 million per year, as it won’t need to import finished steel from Brazil and Peru.