Indonesia has approved an export permit for a new tin smelter, bringing the total number of smelters allowed to export the metal to 29, a trade ministry official told Reuters on Tuesday. The ministry approved a permit for PT Babel Surya Alam Lestari, which is based in Bangka-Belitung province, on June 19, said the official, who declined to be named. This is the fifth licence to be issued since April this year.
The trade ministry export licencing system came into place in February 2007 and requires that smelters produce minimum 99.85% metal, pay 3% royalty and source ore from their own mines or other legitimate operations. The total volume of tin checked for export under the scheme in the twelve months to end-May was 89,116 tonnes.
