Production by Empresa Minera Colquiri (EMC), the Bolivian tin-zinc mine nationalised in June last year, has been running ahead of target recently, prompting calls for worker bonuses and extra investment. BN Americas reported that recent tin production has been 319 tonnes per month, compared to 229 tpm budgeted at the start of the year. EMC’s net income totalled over US$8 million between January and July this year and it is expected to exceed US$12million by December, according to the company’s manager Héctor Arandia.
In response to union demands for a back-dated 5% pay rise, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales signed a decree on 24 October offering a performance –related bonus of an additional month’s salary if the company achieves its financial and production forecasts and meets its tax and social obligations. The President is also reported to have acceded to union demands for investment in a new concentrator at the operation.
