Jindal withdraws from Bolivian flagship iron ore mine

Bolivia’s minister of Mines Mario Virreira confirmed on Tuesday India's Jindal Steel & Power has withdrawn from the contract to develop the El Mutún iron-ore mine in the South American nation, regarded as the biggest mining contract signed under president Evo Morales. The officer said the government will seek for another partner to develop the venture, through an international bidding process.

Jindal was accused by Bolivian authorities of failing to make required investments, after five years of partnership. The company blamed the government for a three-year delay in the project, citing difficulty in acquiring land rights, a lack of legal certainty and failure to guarantee natural gas supplies for a proposed steel complex. The El Mutún deposit is located in the eastern province of Santa Cruz and holds about 40 billion tons of mineral reserves, mostly iron ore.