capacity to process 100,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates a year

Bolivia awarded a Chinese consortium called Henan Yuguang International Economic & Technical Cooperation a contract to build two zinc smelters at a cost of roughly $500 million, the Bolivian government said on Tuesday.

The state-owned Chinese group will provide financing for the project and the smelters are seen coming on line in 2015, the head of Bolivian state mining firm Comibol, Hector Cordova, told Reuters.

"This project will have two phases, the first will last about a year as the company carries out studies on the project's technology, location and engineering. Then comes the construction phase, which will take about two years, so we expect (the smelters) to be functioning in 2015," he said.

Each smelter will eventually have the capacity to process 100,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates a year, but Cordova said "we will reach this quantity little by little."

The smelters will be built in the highland regions of Oruro and Potosi.

Bolivia is one of South America's poorest countries. Minerals -- particularly zinc and silver -- are among the country's most important exports, along with natural gas.

Zinc exports accounted for 39 percent of the $1.88 billion in mineral sales abroad registered from January through September, according to official data.

(Reporting by Claudia Soruco; Writing by Hilary Burke)