The Bolivian government has said that it will not accept changes to a contract awarded to India's Jindal Steel and Power Ltd to develop a $2.1 billion iron ore and steel project at the El Mutun site in the east of the country near the Brazilian border.
A 40-year contract signed in late 2007 gives Jindal the right to mine about half the reserves at El Mutun which is believed to contain more than 40 billion tonnes of medium-grade iron ore.
However, the government now claims that Jindal rescheduled investments from late-2008 to the second half of 2009, which the company blamed on administrative delays.
As part of the project Jindal was to develop an integrated steel plant with annual capacity of 1.7 million tonnes. However the company has apparently approached the Bolivian government with a proposal to change the contract to reduce the quality of steel production at the proposed plant along with the quantity of steel produced.
"Unfortunately Jindal hasn't fulfilled its commitments with the state," Mining Minister Jose Pimentel told local radio, adding that the government will not accept the Jindal proposal.
Showing posts with label bolivia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bolivia. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Bolivia To Build Two New Zinc Plants
Bolivia is to build two new zinc plants in US$500 million over the next three years.
The plants, in Oruro and Potosi are expected to produce 200 tonnes of zinc each year.
The Bolivian Mining Corporation, Comibol, will bid for the building of both plants, which are expected to begin production in 2013.
Bolivia’s zinc exports rose from 385 tonnes in 2008 to 429 tonnes last year bringing in US$685 million in revenues, though a fall in the price of zinc meant that this figure was 7 per cent lower than in 2008.
The plants, in Oruro and Potosi are expected to produce 200 tonnes of zinc each year.
The Bolivian Mining Corporation, Comibol, will bid for the building of both plants, which are expected to begin production in 2013.
Bolivia’s zinc exports rose from 385 tonnes in 2008 to 429 tonnes last year bringing in US$685 million in revenues, though a fall in the price of zinc meant that this figure was 7 per cent lower than in 2008.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Sumitomo To Increase Zinc Production At Bolivian Mine
Sumitomo Corp., Japan’s third-largest trading company, will increase production at its zinc mine in Bolivia this year after the project turned profitable in the past quarter on reduced costs and rising metal prices.
Output will exceed an original plan to produce 225,000 metric tons of zinc in concentrate after ore processing reached 44,000 tons a day in April, 10 percent more than planned, Koichiro Yazaki, manager at Sumitomo’s San Cristobal Project Department, said in an interview in Tokyo. Production was 204,000 tons last year and 69,000 tons in the past quarter.
Metals have gained 36 percent this year, based on an index of six industrial metals, on signs the worst global recession since the Great Depression is easing and as China stockpiled copper, aluminum and zinc. Bank of Japan board member Hidetoshi Kamezaki said today Japan’s economy, the second-largest, is no longer in freefall and a recovery will take hold soon.
“Production of industrial metals will probably increase as the outlook for their demand and prices becomes better on an improvement in global economies,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co., said today by phone. “Some mines may restart operations that they suspended amid the global recession.”
Zinc for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $1,581 a ton at 12:42 p.m. Tokyo time, up 31 percent this year. Prices touched a four-year low of $1,038 on Dec. 12, after reaching $2,900 earlier last year, as the recession eroded demand for the metal used to galvanize steel.
“We expect metal prices will probably increase from the current level, although they may have difficulty returning to last year’s peak,” Takahiro Izuta, Sumitomo’s corporate officer, said in the same interview yesterday. “Prices will likely rebound in tandem with the recovery in global economies.”
Prime Minister Taro Aso has pledged to spend 25 trillion yen ($261 billion) to prop up the Japanese economy and China is spending 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) to boost its growth as nations around the world commit funds to stimulate a recovery.
Japanese trading companies are increasing overseas resource investments to secure domestic supplies and to benefit from long-term global demand as competition for materials gains amid rising consumption in China. Sumitomo gained ownership of San Cristobal, the world’s sixth-largest producer of the metal and the third-biggest in silver, after buying in March a 65 percent stake held by Apex Silver Mines Ltd.
“We have put the mine under our control as it is competitive in terms of production costs,” Izuta said. The open-pit mine, expected to have a 16-year mining life, produces zinc at a cash cost of 60 cents a pound, or $1,323 a ton, according to Yazaki.
Lead in concentrate output at San Cristobal will this year exceed the planned 82,000 tons while production of silver in concentrate may exceed the planned 525 tons, he said. Lead output was 21,000 tons in the three months ended March 31 and 70,000 tons last year. Silver output was 159 tons in the quarter and 586 tons last year.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo expects to gain 260 million yen in profits from the mine, located about 500 kilometers (311 miles) south of the Bolivian capital La Paz, in the year to March 31, 2010, Izuta said. The company booked a loss of about 6 billion yen from the project last fiscal year.
Zinc and lead concentrates produced at San Cristobal are exported from Chile’s Mejillones port to Japan, South Korea, Spain, Belgium and Australia. About a third of the output is bought by smelters in Japan and another third is shipped to South Korea. More than half of the output is sold under long- term contracts, Yazaki said.
The San Cristobal mine has reserves of 3.2 million tons of zinc, 1.2 million tons of lead and 12,600 tons of silver. The zinc concentrate has a purity of about 55 percent to 60 percent and contains 400 grams to 500 grams of silver per ton. The lead concentrate is about 65 percent to 70 percent in purity and contains 3 kilograms to 5 kilograms of silver per ton.
The San Cristobal mine started production in August 2007 after Sumitomo bought a 35 percent stake in the project from Apex Silver in 2006. Sumitomo’s investment and loans to the project have amounted to almost $900 million, Izuta said. The company paid $27.5 million in March to gain full ownership.
Source: Bloomberg
Output will exceed an original plan to produce 225,000 metric tons of zinc in concentrate after ore processing reached 44,000 tons a day in April, 10 percent more than planned, Koichiro Yazaki, manager at Sumitomo’s San Cristobal Project Department, said in an interview in Tokyo. Production was 204,000 tons last year and 69,000 tons in the past quarter.
Metals have gained 36 percent this year, based on an index of six industrial metals, on signs the worst global recession since the Great Depression is easing and as China stockpiled copper, aluminum and zinc. Bank of Japan board member Hidetoshi Kamezaki said today Japan’s economy, the second-largest, is no longer in freefall and a recovery will take hold soon.
“Production of industrial metals will probably increase as the outlook for their demand and prices becomes better on an improvement in global economies,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co., said today by phone. “Some mines may restart operations that they suspended amid the global recession.”
Zinc for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $1,581 a ton at 12:42 p.m. Tokyo time, up 31 percent this year. Prices touched a four-year low of $1,038 on Dec. 12, after reaching $2,900 earlier last year, as the recession eroded demand for the metal used to galvanize steel.
“We expect metal prices will probably increase from the current level, although they may have difficulty returning to last year’s peak,” Takahiro Izuta, Sumitomo’s corporate officer, said in the same interview yesterday. “Prices will likely rebound in tandem with the recovery in global economies.”
Prime Minister Taro Aso has pledged to spend 25 trillion yen ($261 billion) to prop up the Japanese economy and China is spending 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) to boost its growth as nations around the world commit funds to stimulate a recovery.
Japanese trading companies are increasing overseas resource investments to secure domestic supplies and to benefit from long-term global demand as competition for materials gains amid rising consumption in China. Sumitomo gained ownership of San Cristobal, the world’s sixth-largest producer of the metal and the third-biggest in silver, after buying in March a 65 percent stake held by Apex Silver Mines Ltd.
“We have put the mine under our control as it is competitive in terms of production costs,” Izuta said. The open-pit mine, expected to have a 16-year mining life, produces zinc at a cash cost of 60 cents a pound, or $1,323 a ton, according to Yazaki.
Lead in concentrate output at San Cristobal will this year exceed the planned 82,000 tons while production of silver in concentrate may exceed the planned 525 tons, he said. Lead output was 21,000 tons in the three months ended March 31 and 70,000 tons last year. Silver output was 159 tons in the quarter and 586 tons last year.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo expects to gain 260 million yen in profits from the mine, located about 500 kilometers (311 miles) south of the Bolivian capital La Paz, in the year to March 31, 2010, Izuta said. The company booked a loss of about 6 billion yen from the project last fiscal year.
Zinc and lead concentrates produced at San Cristobal are exported from Chile’s Mejillones port to Japan, South Korea, Spain, Belgium and Australia. About a third of the output is bought by smelters in Japan and another third is shipped to South Korea. More than half of the output is sold under long- term contracts, Yazaki said.
The San Cristobal mine has reserves of 3.2 million tons of zinc, 1.2 million tons of lead and 12,600 tons of silver. The zinc concentrate has a purity of about 55 percent to 60 percent and contains 400 grams to 500 grams of silver per ton. The lead concentrate is about 65 percent to 70 percent in purity and contains 3 kilograms to 5 kilograms of silver per ton.
The San Cristobal mine started production in August 2007 after Sumitomo bought a 35 percent stake in the project from Apex Silver in 2006. Sumitomo’s investment and loans to the project have amounted to almost $900 million, Izuta said. The company paid $27.5 million in March to gain full ownership.
Source: Bloomberg
Friday, April 24, 2009
Jindal Set To Start Mining At Bolivian Site
India's Jindal Steel and Power will start mining iron ore next month at Bolivia's El Mutun site, where it plans to invest $2.1 billion, the company said on Friday.
After meeting with President Evo Morales, Jindal Executive Vice President Vikrant Gujral said 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," Gujral told reporters.
He did not specify how much the crusher will produce and said full production would not start until 2012.
A 40-year contract signed in late 2007 gives Jindal the right to mine approximately half the area of El Mutun, which has estimated iron ore reserves of more than 40 billion tonnes, though they are said to be of medium-grade quality.
In comparison, proven reserves in ore-rich Carajas in Brazil's northern state of Para total 1.5 billion tonnes.
Gujral said that as soon as the government gives Jindal rights over the land the company will begin investing some $300 million a year over the next three years.
The government said earlier this week that it would soon grant Jindal rights over the land it has requested.
As part of the project, Jindal has vowed to develop an integrated steel plant with an annual capacity of 1.7 million tonnes, which would start up by 2010.
Jindal 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.
Source: Reuters
After meeting with President Evo Morales, Jindal Executive Vice President Vikrant Gujral said 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," Gujral told reporters.
He did not specify how much the crusher will produce and said full production would not start until 2012.
A 40-year contract signed in late 2007 gives Jindal the right to mine approximately half the area of El Mutun, which has estimated iron ore reserves of more than 40 billion tonnes, though they are said to be of medium-grade quality.
In comparison, proven reserves in ore-rich Carajas in Brazil's northern state of Para total 1.5 billion tonnes.
Gujral said that as soon as the government gives Jindal rights over the land the company will begin investing some $300 million a year over the next three years.
The government said earlier this week that it would soon grant Jindal rights over the land it has requested.
As part of the project, Jindal has vowed to develop an integrated steel plant with an annual capacity of 1.7 million tonnes, which would start up by 2010.
Jindal 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.
Source: Reuters
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Pan American Begins Silver Production At Bolivian Mine
Vancouver-based Pan American Silver has begun producing silver and zinc concentrates at its San Vincente mine, in Bolivia, the firm announced on Wednesday.
Pan American owns 95% of the mine and the balance is held by a State-owned company.
The company decided to build its own processing facility at the mine and ramp up throughput rates, after discovering a high-grade Litoral vein system.
Before that, ore was trucked to a small third-party mill for processing.
Pan American started commissioning the new 750 t/d facility in mid-January, and expects San Vicente to reach design capacity “within the next few months”.
At full capacity, the mine is expected to contribute just less than 3-million ounces a year to Pan American's production profile.
Altogether, the company, which also officially opened its Manantial Espejo mine, in Argentina, last month, expects to produce 21,5-million ounces of silver this year, at cash costs of $6,28/oz.
Source: Mining Weekly
Pan American owns 95% of the mine and the balance is held by a State-owned company.
The company decided to build its own processing facility at the mine and ramp up throughput rates, after discovering a high-grade Litoral vein system.
Before that, ore was trucked to a small third-party mill for processing.
Pan American started commissioning the new 750 t/d facility in mid-January, and expects San Vicente to reach design capacity “within the next few months”.
At full capacity, the mine is expected to contribute just less than 3-million ounces a year to Pan American's production profile.
Altogether, the company, which also officially opened its Manantial Espejo mine, in Argentina, last month, expects to produce 21,5-million ounces of silver this year, at cash costs of $6,28/oz.
Source: Mining Weekly
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Bolivian Government To Seize Land For Jindal Iron Ore Mine
The Bolivian government has announced plans to seize private land containing part of the El Mutun iron-ore deposit and deliver it to India’s Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu said on Friday.
Full story at Bloomberg
Full story at Bloomberg
Friday, January 30, 2009
Bolivia To Take Controlling Stake In Glencore Zinc Smelter
Bolivia expects to take a controlling stake in a unit of Glencore International AG within weeks as it seeks to boost ownership over the country’s natural resources, Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu said.
Bolivia expects to conclude talks with Glencore over its Sinchi Wayra zinc and lead unit amid a drop in metals prices. He didn’t give more details on the size of the stake.
Bolivia's zinc output is expected to drop this year from about 345,000 tons in 2008. Bolivian revenue from all of its metals exports also will decline.
Sinchi Wayra has the capacity to produce 240,000 metric tons of zinc concentrate and 15,000 metric tons of lead concentrate annually, Glencore says on its Web site.
In 2007, Bolivia seized control of Glencore’s Vinto smelter. At the time, the government said it didn’t get a high enough sale price when it sold the smelter in 1996. The smelter was purchased by Glencore in 2005.
Source: Bloomberg
Full article
Bolivia expects to conclude talks with Glencore over its Sinchi Wayra zinc and lead unit amid a drop in metals prices. He didn’t give more details on the size of the stake.
Bolivia's zinc output is expected to drop this year from about 345,000 tons in 2008. Bolivian revenue from all of its metals exports also will decline.
Sinchi Wayra has the capacity to produce 240,000 metric tons of zinc concentrate and 15,000 metric tons of lead concentrate annually, Glencore says on its Web site.
In 2007, Bolivia seized control of Glencore’s Vinto smelter. At the time, the government said it didn’t get a high enough sale price when it sold the smelter in 1996. The smelter was purchased by Glencore in 2005.
Source: Bloomberg
Full article
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