A series of recent reports by Business News Americas has detailed efforts by the Bolivian government to support production and employment in all sectors of the tin mining industry in the face of lower prices. Bolivia produces some 16,000 tpy of tin-in-concentrate of which 45-50% comes from the state-controlled Huanuni operation, 35 – 40% from independent co-operatives and small mines and the balance from “medium miners” (mainly Glencore subsidiary Sinchi Wayra).
The latest news is that the government has issued equipment and machinery worth US$5million to the country’s mining cooperatives federation Fencomin to promote sector development, an official from the mining and metallurgical ministry told BNamericas. "The government’s objective is to start industrializing the mining of tin, the principal mineral that cooperative groups mine," the official said. The official said the mining equipment included a backhoe excavator, 15 dump trucks and 132 compressors.
Last week Alfredo Zaconeta, an official with the mining and metallurgy ministry, told BNamericas that agreement had been reached with co-operatives working within the Huanuni operation that would result in a rise in output from 700 tonnes per month to 1,300 tpm. "The parties reached the agreement to boost production as a way of avoiding job losses," he said. The official added that low metals prices have prompted companies to reduce costs for production and treatment, "and that can be accomplished by updating technology and increasing output," he said. In the longer term state company Comibol plans to invest $40 million in a new crusher which will greatly expand ore treatment capacity at the plant.
Finally, government mediation has resulted in the withdrawal of nearly 370 compulsory redundancy notices at Sinchi Wayra’s zinc and tin mines. Following a workforce reduction through voluntary redundancies and early retirements, the deal involves a wage freeze for 2009 and productivity increases.
