Bolivia’s Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy has signed a US$350 million loan with Export-Import Bank of China for the construction of a zinc refining project in the city of Oruro. The 20-year preferential loan carries a 2% interest rate.

Under President Luis Arce, Bolivia is pursuing a strategy of adding value to its exports by shipping refined products instead of raw materials. The project aims to extract indium and gallium during the zinc melting process.

At a signing ceremony in Oruro on February 6, Arce said the project was part of the Bolivian industrialization programme, providing sustainability to the economy and generating jobs. Bolivia is among the top ten zinc producers globally.

Present at the ceremony was Chinese Ambassador to Bolivia Wang Liang, who said the new plant would help develop synergies between the two economies, as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

In 2018 China and Bolivia signed a memorandum of understanding on BRI cooperation.

Last year the construction contract was awarded to China's Enfi-Crig consortium and Chongqing CISDI Engineering Consulting.

China is heavily involved in Bolivian projects. China Eximbank has provided financing to the Mutun steel project, for which Sinosteel is the engineering, procurement and construction contract. The project, still under construction, is located in the state of Santa Cruz, which has sizeable iron ore deposits.