Two Chinese tin smelters (Gejiu Jinye and Gejiu Zili) suspended production from early April after the government carried out environmental pollution spot checks related to sulphur dioxide emissions.
Typical production from the disrupted smelters in Yunnan Province is around 1,400 tonnes per month. It is estimated that operations will be affected for between 2 to 4 weeks, during which period smelters will install better emissions monitoring equipment to comply with government requirements.
A number of private tin mining companies in Yunnan have also seen production cease due to an explosives ban imposed following the Chinese holiday period. Affected companies are not expected to restart operations until June this year.
