Via MercoPress, a report on Bolivia’s iron sector:

Bolivian President Luis Arce inaugurated the El Mutún complex, the South American country’s first industrialized iron facility, which can boost other infrastructure developments, particularly those sponsored by Russia and Iran.

Steel from the State-owned El Mutún could be used in constructing agricultural equipment, storage facilities, telecommunications towers, medical facilities, mining infrastructure, pipelines, refineries, and other projects, local or foreign, which highlights the potential of the undertaking in Puerto Suárez, in the department of Santa Cruz.

The complex is expected to produce some 200,000 tons of steel annually, thus reducing the country’s iron imports by 50% and saving US$ 250 million. The government plans to build a second complex to meet domestic demand and export. The project, which began in 2019 and was relaunched in 2021, is expected to generate 700 direct jobs and over 2,000 indirect jobs. The plant was built with an investment of US$ 546 million and includes various production units.

“Today is a historic moment for all of Bolivia. There were so many years of backwardness and delay. And for all Bolivians, in the year of the Bicentennial, we deliver one of the most dreamed projects, most longed for by the Bolivian people for decades. Our Government, brothers from Santa Cruz, Bolivian people, fulfill their commitment to industrialize El Mutún,” Arce said. “We are going to make the second phase of this project, which is to expand the doubling of production here in Mutún,” he also pointed out.

“We have managed to make this steel complex a reality in just three and a half years,” El Mutún’s President Jorge Alvarado told reporters. “At the moment, Bolivia imports close to 400,000 tons per year. If we were to produce 200,000 tons, we would be substituting imports by 50%. This is one of the important aspects because, in this way, we will prevent the leakage of foreign currency by approximately US$ 250 million,” he added.

Alvarado also recalled that work began in January 2019 but was paralyzed during the Jeanine Añez government before resuming under Arce in 2021. “We have made the project a reality thanks to the support of our President Luis Arce, as well as the support of our Minister of Mining [Alejandro Santos],” he stressed.

The complex will industrialize the iron from the hill known as the “sleeping giant” and promises to generate an average of 700 direct jobs and more than 2,000 indirect jobs, according to Alvarado’s projections.

Russia and Iran have made significant investments in Bolivia, which could benefit from the steel produced at the El Mutún complex.

Russia’s Uranium One Group has invested US$ 450 million in Bolivia to produce lithium, a key component for batteries and electric vehicles. The El Mutún steel could be used in the construction and maintenance of facilities and infrastructure for lithium extraction and processing. In addition, the agency Rosatom is building a nuclear plant in El Alto, Bolivia, with an investment of US$ 300 million. Steel from El Mutún could be essential for constructing and maintaining this plant, ensuring its structural integrity and safety. Moscow has also invested over US$ 1.5 billion in Bolivia’s defense, gas, and nuclear energy sectors, for which the steel could come in handy for building infrastructure, machinery, and equipment.