Opposing views on official attitudes to Indonesian exports were reported in the metals press on Wednesday.
Metal Bulletin noted that the newly elected governor of Bangka Belitung province was supportive of independent smelters. Eko Maulana Ali Suroso was announced as the winner of elections earlier this week and will take power in April in the key tin producing region, which has been hit by a major clampdown on illegal mining.
“Eko is famous for giving licences to the smelters. Now that he has become the governor, people are expecting him to do the same,” a source close to the new governor told MB.
In sharp contrast, Bloomberg News reported that Indonesia is considering the imposition of export quotas in a bid to keep the metal’s price above $12,000 a ton. The proposed move would keep the global markets from being oversupplied, Mangantar Marpaung, the director for coal and geothermal development at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said in a telephone interview.
Our view is that both stories are misleading. The provincial government does not have the authority to control smelter operations, while the Ministry is well aware of the dangers of over-inflating tin prices and will not wish to artificially limit supplies from legal mining operations.
