Indonesian refined tin exports in February dropped 8.7 percent to 8,355 tonnes from 9,155 tonnes in January, data from the trade ministry showed today. “February was the peak of rainy season,” Toto Rusbianto, head of mining exports at the ministry, told Bloomberg. The rain disrupted mining, reducing tin ore supplies to smelters, he said. The latest month’s figures, based on surveys prior to shipment conducted as part of the ministry’s export licencing scheme, were 0.4% higher than in February 2012.
Considering that this is the middle of the monsoon season, the tonnage is quite considerable. The rolling 12-month total up to February is some 102,600 tonnes, and this has been achieved despite a substantial fall in PT Timah’s production and the suspension of all PT Koba Tin’s mining and smelting operations since the fourth quarter of last year. It is therefore clear that Indonesia’s private smelters are taking advantage of booming small-scale mining activity, ahead of a tightening of tin export quality regulations due to take effect from the end of June.
