Minsur SA of Peru has completed the purchase of the Paranapanema group’s Taboca tin division, according to Brazilian press reports today. The 850 million reais (US$374 million) deal was done through Minsur’s Brazilian offshoot Serra da Madeira and adds about 20% to the Peruvian company’s annual tin production capacity.
Mineracao Taboca’s main asset is the Pitinga mine in Amazonas, which has very large low grade reserves of tin, along with niobium, tantalum and uranium. The mine produced 6,602 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate last year and is in the process of being expanded to a capacity of some 10,000 tpy. Taboca also controls the Mamore smelter in Sao Paulo, which treats all the mine’s output, plus some concentrates from other smaller Brazilian mines.
Combined tin resources of Minsur’s San Rafael mine and Pitinga are some one million tonnes and annual capacity will be 50,000 tpy.
