Liuzhou China Tin Co., China’s third-largest producer, was due to resume production today after electricity supply is restored with the repair of power poles. The company halted operations at its Guangxi province-based Laibin plant from July 11, Li Zhijian, a sales director, told Bloomberg yesterday. Electricity supply to the plant was suspended after wires were stolen from power poles, which then collapsed in rainstorms, the company said in a statement on its website. China Tin produced 13,193 tonnes of refined tin last year. The Laibin plant also produces zinc and indium.
“Any supply problem could help boost tin prices, which seem to be in a deadlock between sellers and buyers amid poor demand,” Zhao Ping, a tin trader at Shanghai Wanjun Trading Co. said. However he added that Liuzhou’s lost output shouldn’t have as much impact on supplies as the summer maintenance shutdown at Yunnan Tin Co., which usually lasts from July to August.
