Malaysian tin producer Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC) has begun construction of a rotary furnace at its Rahman Hydraulic Tin (RHT) mine in Perak, Malaysia.
The mine is the largest tin mine in Malaysia, representing around half of the country’s tin mine production, and provides approximately a fifth of MSC’s feedstock. In the wake of tightness in the international concentrate market and intense competition for raw material from Africa, the company has been working to improve efficiencies at its own mining operations.
MSC will invest RM10 million (approximately US$2.5 million) to construct the rotary furnace, which will produce crude tin for refining at the company’s newly completed Pulau Indah facility near Port Klang, approximately 400 km by road from the mine.
Representatives from the Perak Minerals and Geoscience Department, Perak State Land and Mines Office, and Perak State government, attended a ceremony to mark the beginning of construction alongside RHT executive director Madzlan Zam and MSC co-CEOs Nicolas Chen Seong Lee and Lam Hoi Khong.
This process will reduce the company’s transport costs for its Malaysian operation, shorten lead times, and is expected to improve overall operational efficiency.
The furnace will have a planned processing capacity of 10 tonnes per day, roughly matching the usual daily mining output at RHT.
Our view: MSC has remained remarkably resilient while global supply disruptions squeeze its access to primary feed, and improved efficiencies at the company’s own operations will provide further cushioning.
Malaysia Smelting Corporation is a Member of the International Tin Association.
Image credit: The Star
