Morales Postpones El Mutú Bidding For 90 Days - Bolivia

Morales postpones El Mutún bidding for 90 days – Bolivia

20th February 2006

BNamericas.com

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has postponed for 90 days the bidding process for the El Mutún iron ore deposit, the country's state news agency ABI reported.

Morales postponed the process to correct deficiencies in the bidding rules and contract in order to "guarantee the establishment of Bolivia's first steel company," the report said.

The updated bidding rules and contract will require the winning bidder to process El Mutún iron into steel locally, and for natural gas to be used in the process.

"A new economic phase begins, with the industrialization of raw materials and an active government presence that will benefit the population," the report quoted Morales as saying.

The deadline to open bids was February 21, after then-President Eduardo Rodríguez postponed bidding for 60 days from the original December 21 deadline.

The groups that submitted bids were EBX Siderúrgica of Brazil, China's Shandong Luneng Group, Europe's Mittal Steel (NYSE: MT), Argentina's Siderar and Jindal Steel & Power of India.

El Mutún is one of the world's largest iron ore deposits, with some 40Bt of reserves over 60 sq km at an average content of 50% iron. The deposit is close to the Bolivia-Brazil border, 41km south of the city of Puerto Suárez.