Chzvez just nationalized his second steel plant since 2008. This one was Sidetur, and the previous one was Sidor in 2008. The rationale was that it was not producing enough steel to meet the nation's construction demands. At least this one was a Venezuelan company, unlike the two US owned glass manufacturing plants that were appropriated last week.

The point: interesting to see a country recognizing the importance of steel for national security. That ties in with chromite. How important is a North American supply of chromite to North America? Very.