FMO cuts the capex of pellet plant improvements - Venezuela

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Venezuelan iron ore and pellet producer Ferrominera Orinoco (FMO) has reduced the capital cost of a project to improve the cooling system at its pellet plant, a company executive told BNamericas.

"We had budgeted for an investment of US$11mn to replace the entire cooling system but company engineers managed to accomplish that goal with an investment of just under US$50,000," the executive said.

"This type of achievement shows the capacity of our human resources."

This year, FMO expects to invest roughly US$63mn in upgrades to technology and to advance a plan to boost production capacity to 4.0Mt from 3.3Mt.

FMO, controlled by Venezuelan state heavy industry holding CVG, is based in Puerto Ordaz. The company supplies iron ore to Venezuelan steelmakers and iron processors, and exports products to Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Harvey Beltrán
Business News Americas