The continued strike at Venezuela's Ferrominera Orinoco (FMO) is keeping the domestic hot-briquetted iron (HBI) industry paralyzed.
"As a result of FMO's sustained strike, all HBI producers have stopped for the moment," a market source in Venezuela told Fastmarkets. "Even Orinoco Iron is completely down due to the shortage of iron ore fines."FMO is the country's only legally authorized domestic producer and seller of iron ore, which is required for the production of pellet and iron ore fines - the raw materials for HBI output.Workers at FMO began industrial action...