Indonesia’s largest private tin smelter, PT Refined Bangka Tin is planning to build up production to 800 – 900 tpm and is in the process of re-instating the listing of its brand on the LME, Metal Bulletin reported. The company was reported by trade sources to have re-started production in August, after previous owner Tomy Winata sold and closed the operation in Sungailiat, Bangka island in February. Winata announced at the time that the plant would be scrapped, but new shareholders have come forward to revive the business.
In a statement circulated at the Indonesia Tin Conference and Exhibition held in Bali last week, the company said that it had responded to a formal request by the Governor of Bangka Belitung province to re-start operations to support the local economy. “Considering the request of the Governor as the regional chairman and facilitator of local people, the former shareholders decided to sell RBT to the new investor with requirements to exercise “Green Mining” concept and keep supporting the regional and national economies,” the statement continued.
According to Metal Bulletin the smelter is now producing 200 – 300 tpm of refined tin,but plans to ramp this up to 800 – 900 tpm, although it says that this will take some time. The identities of the new shareholders are unclear, although an RBT official said that the new board is “made up of a mixture of several companies with expertise in coal mining and trading and tin dredging”.
