Bolivian gov’t seeks a new deal with miners, says Minister Navarro

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA — The Bolivian government is “building a new relation between business and the state,” Bolivia’s Mining and Metallurgy Minister Cesar Navarro tells The Northern Miner in a sit-down interview in his government office. Soon after taking office in January 2006, Bolivian President Evo Morales laid down the law to foreign companies. The new relationship between the state and investors would be that of partners, not “master and servant.” True to his word, the president acted where he believed the partnership had broken down. Troops were sent to occupy the Vinto tin smelter, where the government said that commodity giant Glencore (LON: GLEN) had failed to carry out promised investments. Mines, power plants and gas-fields followed, building up Morales’ popularity with supporters, but scaring off all but the bravest investors. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.