Bolivia’s mining minister has accused Glencore of blocking tin sales from the Vinto smelter by threatening potential buyers with legal action. "This is clearly sabotage and a boycott – a conspiracy against the Vinto nationalization," Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu said, according to state news agency ABI.
The minister had met executives from Glencore’s Bolivian subsidiary Sinchi Wayra on Tuesday to discuss a letter he said the Swiss company had sent to "scare off" potential buyers of Vinto’s output in March, shortly after the plant was forcibly nationalized.
Echazu told reporters on Tuesday the alleged letter says Vinto’s tin belongs to the company and could be confiscated. "We’ve got a copy of the letter that show’s this … and yesterday in the Presidential Palace we discussed the letter," Guzman told Reuters.
Since April Glencore has been the main buyer of tin sold by Vinto, although the government alleges that there are some 2,500 tonnes unsold as a result of the reluctance of many traders to participate in its tenders.
