Bolivian troops seize Vinto tin smelter
On Friday more than 200 troops occupied the 12,000 tpy Vinto tin smelter in Bolivia. The soldiers entered the facility after Bolivian President Juan Evo Morales Ayma arrived to sign a decree nationalizing the plant, the country's largest operating smelter. The plant...
Tax freeze for Bolivian cooperatives
The Bolivian government agreed on Tuesday to exempt small-scale miners’ cooperatives from large minerals tax rises planned for this year. According to an Associated Press report from La Paz more than 20,000 miners demonstrated in the Bolivian capital on Monday...
Local approval for Bangka smelter re-openings
Two more tin smelters in Bangka Belitung province have won regional government approval to re-open, following an initial five at the end of last week, according to Metal Bulletin. However they still require an official go ahead from the Trade Ministry in...
STI reverts to original output target
A spokesman for Singapore Tin Industries (STI) told journalists today that it plans to produce 9,000 tonnes of refined metal in January-June. The company had produced 8,738 tonnes in the six months to December 2006, but announced on 25 January that it was cutting...
Metals X expands tin production
Metals X Limited, formerly Bluestone Tin, reported a sharp increase in production at its Collingwood mine in Queensland during the quarter ending December 31. Ore throughput was 260% higher than in the previous quarter, and with grades rising slightly to 1.21% Sn, the...
Singapore Tin and PT Koba Tin to cut output
Singapore Tin Industries will cut its output target by around 33 percent to 12,000 tonnes this year due to supply constraints in Indonesia, its director Petrus Tjandra told Reuters today. The refiner, a joint venture between China's top producer, Yunnan Tin, and local...
Further steps to limit Indonesian supplies
A new regulation limiting refined tin exports from Indonesia should help create fairer competition globally and support the world price of tin, Thobrani Alwi, president of PT Timah, said in a report by the Antara news agency. The regulation, issued by the Trade...
Koba Tin operating normally after police raid
PT Koba Tin, Indonesia’s second largest tin producer, continues to conduct “business as usual” following intervention by the police at its smelter on Bangka island. “It's still business as usual” after the visit, Mathias Harryanto,...
Indonesian government not re-licencing smelters
A senior Indonesian government spokesman denied yesterday that new operating licences were about to be issued to some independent smelters on Bangka island. More than twenty operations were shut down last October by the police and they will remain in-operational for...