Comibol push through issues to ramp up production

Bolivia’s state mining company Comibol is attempting to increase production by tapping into new mining areas at the company’s Cerro Posokoni site. The new veins – Keller, Bandy, Chuallani and Notaf – are forecast to increase production by 160 tonnes/month. The new...

Top 10 refined tin producers increase production by 2%

ITA reports that four of this year’s top 10 refined tin producers saw an increase in production in 2018, including three of the five biggest companies. In China, production changes were split, although the world’s largest refined tin producer, YTC, saw an...

Vinto output declines in 2018

Production at the Vinto tin smelter, owned by Bolivian state mining company Comibol, fell 10% from 12,637 tonnes in 2017 to 11,369 tonnes in 2018. This marks the second year of decline after output decreased from 13,038 tonnes in 2016. Production declines in 2017 were...

Huanuni expects lowest output for a decade

The management of the Bolivian state-owned Huanuni mine expect tin production to fall to some 6,200 tonnes in 2018, 30% below a target of 8,000 tonnes. Despite attempts to increase the average monthly production, a US$2mn deficit which was recorded by the Huanuni...

Huanuni to trial new processing plant

The Bolivian state-owned tin mining company, Empresa Minera Huanuni (EMH), has announced plans to start trial operations at the Huanuni Mine’s Lucianita processing plant in late-October, according to local news sources. The 3,000tpd Lucianita plant was built by the...

Bolivian production stable in Q1

Bolivia’s tin output remained fairly stable in the first quarter of 2018, according to official government statistics, with the output of refined tin up 1.3% year-on-year to 3,858 tonnes and tin mine production effectively unchanged at 4,375 tonnes. Refined tin...

Vinto output falls in 2017

The Bolivian state-owned smelter, Empresa Metalúrgica Vinto, has revealed that refined tin production fell by 3.1% year-on-year to 12,637 tonnes in 2017, although revenues increased by 11% to some US$ 255 million, according to local sources. We believe that the small...

New Huanuni plant to begin limited operations in 2018

The General Manager of Bolivia’s largest tin mine, Huanuni, has announced that the mine’s new processing plant should begin small-scale operations from March 2018. The 3,000tpd Lucianita plant was built by the Chinese contractor Vicstar Union Engineering...

Bolivian tin output recovers in Q2

Official statistics from the Bolivian Ministry of Minerals and Metals reveal a 13.8% quarter-on-quarter increase in refined tin output to 4,359 tonnes and a 7.9% increase in tin mine output to 4,726 tonnes in Q2 2017. Refined production saw a lower 1.8% increase and...

Victory Mines to commence Bolivian tailings studies

Australian tin explorer, Victory Mines (ASX:VIC), has announced that it has been granted permission by Bolivian state mining company, Comibol, to carry out feasibility study work on eight tin tailings sites in Bolivia. The sites include four existing tailings projects...