Police seized more than 40 tonnes of illegal tin ore at a warehouse in Bangka regency, Bangka-Belitung Islands, on Saturday, a local police chief told the Antara news agency. Bangka Police chief Bagus Rai Erliyanto, said the warehouse owner could provide no legal documentation issued by the local administration relating to the ownership of the tin ore. “The warehouse owner claimed the tin ore was brought from a mining area operated by state-owned tin miner PT Timah,” he said. However PT Timah only allowed its partners to mine tin provided the tin ore was stored at the company’s own warehouse. He added that he would strengthen surveillance to prevent illegal activities including storing, mining and smuggling of tin at locations prone to such activities such as along riverbanks, estuaries and beaches.
ITRI View: This is another recent example of closer control of illegal mining and exports, following the seizure of 134 containers of tin and solder en route from Bangka to Singapore by the Indonesian navy on 6 March. 74 of those containers were due to be released this week after checks on their documentation.
