Venezuelan  hot-briquetted iron producer Briqueteras de Venezuela, or BriqVen, resumed 

operations in the past weekend after almost a month of stoppage due to equipment issues, 

the company said Thursday. 

The company is producing at 60 mt/hour, or around 43,000 mt/month. 

According to BriqVen,formerly Matesi, the company is receiving pellets from the country's 

largest steelmaker Sidor. 

The company had planned to output around 40,000 mt of HBI during the stoppage period. 

BriqVen's output during the first half of the year totaled around 70,000 mt. BriqVen's 2016 

output was around 50,000 mt. 

It has 125,000 mt/month of installed capacity at its facility, located in the city of Guayana. 

A large European trader said at the end of July that BriqVen continues directing its material 

to the trading company. 

"We provide pellets for them [from Sidor] and they produce HBI, and we export it," he said. 

The agreement started during February. 

The  trader   confirmed exported cargo during July from BriqVen, and expected one for the 

end of August.