Venezuela's basic industry ministry (Minppibes) has signed an agreement with Danieli, the Italy-based plantmaker and steel producer, to increase direct-reduced iron capacity by 1.2 million mt/year at Sidor, Venezuela's largest steelmaker, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
The first phase of a new DRI plant, HYL III, would add 800,000 mt/year of capacity. The second phase, once completed, would add another 400,000 mt/year, the ministry said.
Sidor's current installed DRI capacity is 4.2 million mt/year -- with 63% at its Midrex II plant, 20% at its Midrex I plant and 17% at its HYL II plant.
"The agreement between Minppibes and Danieli is part of a compensated exchange plan in which no monetary investment is contemplated, since the costs of installing and improving the production lines will be covered by intermediate products produced in the steel complex," the ministry said.
Venezuela's minister of basic industry Juan Arias said the country is not "putting a single [US] dollar, we will simply pay with production which allows to improve the marketing of our products."
The company did not provide information about its current DRI production level.
Sidor's installed capacity allows crude steel production of 425,000 mt/month, or 5.1 million mt/year. It also can produce 2.8 million mt/year of hot-rolled coil, 1.7 million mt/year of cold-rolled coil, 390,000 mt/year of rebar and 600,000 mt/year of wire rod, among other products.
