Bolivia’s mining and metallurgy minister Luis Alberto Echazú said he is considering extending subsidies recently granted to zinc miners to the tin sector also, according to a report by state news agency ABI. In late November the Bolivian government authorized the use of a US$9 million fund to subsidize zinc producers during times when the metal’s spot price is below their marginal costs of production.
Last month the minister told Reuters that 80,000 people are involved in mining in Bolivia, mainly as independent operators, of which 80 – 90% work in zinc or tin. Zinc prices have fallen more sharply than tin in the last year. Bolivia’s production of tin-in-concentrate rose by 6.9% to 12,393 tonnes in January-September this year, of which 4,642 tonnes came from small mines and cooperatives. A senior ministry official recently told La Prensa newspaper that many tin mines might be forced to close if prices fell to $10,000 – $11,000/tonne.
