Indonesian exporters object to letters of credit rule
Indonesian exporters of key commodities have objected to a government plan making it mandatory to use letters of credit for export payments, a deputy to the chief economic minister said on Monday. Indonesia wants exporters of coffee, crude palm oil, cocoa, rubber, and...
China imports less metal, more tin concentrates in January
Official customs figures released today show that China imported 843 tonnes of refined tin in January, down by 38% compared to January 2008, but higher than the 527 tonnes imported in December. The main origins of tin imported last month were Singapore, Indonesia,...
Indonesia ministry publishes optimistic tin target
An official report prepared by Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources projected a sharp rise in tin production to 105,000 tonnes this year, up from 71,610 tonnes in 2008, according to Reuters. However the projection is simply the sum of production...
Pirquitas tin production to start shortly
Silver Standard Resources reports that it is on schedule to start concentrate production this quarter at its silver-tin-zinc Pirquitas mine in Jujuy, Argentina. The mine will have an annual production capacity of 10 million ounces of silver and some 2,500 tonnes of...
WBMS: tin market deficit in 2008, but consumption down
Preliminary data on world supply and demand in 2008 released by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) yesterday showed that, of the six LME metals, tin was the only one with a supply shortfall. However tin consumption fell more last year than demand for the...
Business as usual as Koba Tin executive is detained
The head of Indonesia's second-biggest tin producer, PT Koba Tin, has been detained for alleged illegal mining, the prosecutors office on the tin-producing islands of Bangka-Belitung told Reuters on Tuesday. Kamardin Md Top, the President Director of Koba Tin, has...
Indonesian January shipments at new low
The volume of refined tin checked prior to export from Indonesia in January amounted to 6,186 tonnes, 38% lower than the quantity inspected in January 2008, according to Ministry of Trade data released on Monday. However because around 3,500 tonnes was held back for...
Vinto investment pledge
Bolivia's President Evo Morales has guaranteed a US$20 million payment for installation of a new smelting furnace to help upgrade the Vinto metallurgical complex, state news agency ABI reported last week. "We are committed to making significant changes. We are...
Metals X to sell Collingwood project
Metals X announced on 12 February that it has agreed to sell a subsidiary company, Bluestone Nominees, to Icon Resources. Bluestone controls the Collingwood tin mine in North Queensland which Metals X shut down in May last year due to a limited reserve life and...