Bolivian miners resist Comibol restructuring plan

Miners at Bolivia’s state-owned Huanuni tin mine have halted production in a dispute over a planned restructuring of Bolivia’s umbrella state mining company, Comibol, local news sources have reported. A government proposal for the restructuring of Comibol...

Bolivia reports weaker tin output in Q1

Official statistics from the Bolivian Ministry of Minerals and Metals reveal a year-on-year fall in both mine and refined tin production in the country in the first quarter of 2017, with mine output falling 6.7% to 4,381 tonnes and refined metal production falling...

Bolivian mine production falls in 2016

Official statistics from Bolivian Ministry of Minerals and Metals reveal that while drought and delayed investment have impacted mined tin output, which fell 13.3% year-on-year to 17,460 tonnes in 2016, refined tin production rose 8.7% to 16,810 tonnes over the same...

Huanuni problems continue in 2016

Bolivia’s state-owned Huanuni tin mine made a loss of US$6.7 Million last year, according to local news sources, as government statistics show that underinvestment and widespread drought resulted in a 25% year-on-year fall in tin-in-concentrate production in...

Vinto output rises in 2016

Bolivia’s state-owned tin smelter, Empresa Metalúrgica Vinto (EMV), has reported increased refined production of 13,111t during 2016, up 8.3% compared to the previous year, according to local news sources. The figure was reported by EMV’s CEO, Ramiro...

Contract signed for new plant at Colquiri

The Bolivian state mining company, Comibol, has signed a US$75M contract for construction of a new tin and zinc processing plant at the Colquiri tin-zinc mine, according to local news sources. The 2,000tpd plant will be built by the Bolivian company Ziegler and will...

Bolivian co-operatives clash with government

Roadblocks and violent protests have been reported in Bolivia in response to changes to laws governing co-operatives in the country, according to local news sources. Mining co-operatives play an important role in Bolivia, which produced 9,093 tonnes of...

Bolivia seeks partner for Colquiri expansion

The Bolivian President Evo Morales has invited proposals from firms to help develop a new US$75 million tin and zinc processing plant for the country’s Colquiri tin and zinc mine. The government plans to award the contract on 20 June with an aim to complete...

Huanuni receives $20 million loan for mine operations

An agreement has been signed between the Bolivian Ministry of Mining and Empresa Minera Huanuni for the injection of US$20 million into the mining company to purchase essential supplies and pay off debt of approximately $17 million with its suppliers, according to...

Vinto sees record production in 2015

The Bolivian, state owned, Vinto Metallurgical Company (EMV) has reported production of 12,106 tonnes of refined tin in 2015, its highest in 20 years, according to local news sources. The smelters 2015 production exceeded a target of 11,300 tonnes and represents a...