BNamericas reported that Bolivian state steel company ESM and Paraguayan steelmaker Acepar have resumed negotiations for the sale of iron ore, which were suspended due to local community protests near the El Mutun deposit.

An official from Bolivia's mining and metallurgy ministry told BNamericas that "There was an agreement to export 6,000t of ore to Acepar, but the shipment will be made once conditions on the Paraguay River allow for it."

Iron ore exports from El Mutun in Bolivia's Santa Cruz department have been halted due to the low level of the river and will not resume until 2012. At the beginning of October 2011, ESM sent the first 10,000 tonnes of iron ore to Acepar as part of a USD 6 million sales contract for 140,000 tonnes.

ESM and state miner Comibol have a JV with India's Jindal Steel & Power to develop 50% of the deposit and build a steel plant.

(Sourced from www.bnamericas.com)