Bolivia’s state-owned company, Empresa Siderúrgica del Mutún (ESM), has successfully produced its first batch of billets just one month after officially beginning operations. Each billet measures 16 meters in length, weighs one ton. 

In the initial phase, the company planned to produce between 2,000 and 3,000 tons of billets per month, which would be processed into rebar and wire rods. Once fully operational, the steel plant is expected to produce around 200,000 tons of steel products annually.

ESM President Jorge Alvarado Rivas stated that to ensure high production quality, the plant’s furnace reached temperatures above 1550°C during a one-week trial period, optimal for metallurgical processes. He also highlighted that the iron ore from the El Mutún mine contains up to 65% iron content, giving ESM’s steel a competitive edge in both quality and cost.