Chilean iron ore producer CAP Mineria announced it will temporarily suspend pellet production for 30 days at its Huasco plant.
The company said it will temporarily halt production as a way to focus in the sales of more profitable products, such as sinter feed, which has a lower production cost and is expected to help the company realize better margins.
At the same time it halts pellets production at its Huasco plant, CAP Mineria will also grant furloughs for 400 workers while the plant remains shutdown.
The pellet plant is expected to resume operations by February 2016. The Huasco plant has a 3.5 million mt capacity, according to local media reports.