In an interview with the Jakarta Post newspaper PT Timah President Director Sukrisno provided more details of the company’s plans to establish a production base in Myanmar and also commented on the production outlook for its core operations in Indonesia in 2013/2014.
Sukrisno said one new subsidiary would operate a tin mine in Tanithary province in Myanmar and the other would market its tin produced in Myanmar. “We expect the two new business units, which will be fully owned by Timah, to begin operations in 2014,” he said. “There are several steps before we can really start exploring reserves there. Right now, the focus is to obtain all necessary permits from the local government in accordance with their mining procedures,” he said. In November, Timah secured a concession in Pubyien-Tamok in Myeik, Tanithary, from Myanmar’s energy ministry. The company has allocated US$18 million to develop the 10,000-hectare site over a three-year period.
The firm would also consider building a smelter in Myanmar, Sukrisno said. Timah will operate its concession in Myanmar mine under a production sharing contract. The company has envisioned reaping 80% of the production with the remainder going to the Myanmar government. The firm is currently still waiting for the local government’s response to its proposal.
Timah plans to produce 30,000 tonnes of tin this year, which would be up from the 29,600 tonnes it produced in 2012. It will also seek to boost earnings by cutting production costs from between $16,000 and $18,000/tonne on average to below $15,000/tonne next year. The company’s first large, deep water bucket wheel dredge will be operating this year, following the conversion of one of its old bucket ladder dredges. Two further bucket ladder dredges may be converted next year if the first one proves successful.
