India's Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) has announced that it will start mining iron ore next month at its El Mutun iron ore mines, Bolivia, where it plans to invest $2.1 billion.
After meeting with Bolivian president Evo Morales, JSPL's executive vice president Vikrant Gujral said that the company was ready to start production at the vast reserve, which lies near the border with Brazil.
"Next month we'll start producing raw material. I've invited the president to go to El Mutun because we want him to be there when the mineral crusher starts working," Mr. Gujral told the media.
Not specifying how much the crusher will produce, Mr. Gujral said that full production would not start until 2012.
Earlier last week, the company was granted the mining rights for 20 billion mt of iron ore reserves from El Mutun iron ore project, which is one of the largest iron ore reserves in the world.
On the other hand, JSPL plans to invest $2.1 billion over the next eight years in creating an integrated steel plant, which would be capable of producing 1.7 million mt per year of long products of steel, and will also have a DRI (direct reduced iron) plant with an annual capacity of six million mt and a pellet plant with an annual capacity of 10 million mt.
Both JSPL and Bolivia will share the profits generated by the project, which officials have said would amount to $200 million per year in taxes and profits for the Bolivian state.