The onset of heavy rains on Bangka and Belitung islands is reported to have reduced ore supplies to independent smelters by over 20% this month. “Workers fear landslides may occur as a result of the heavy rains. Even when the weather is dry, the lands may still be wet and the workers still fear the possibility of landslides,” Ismiyardi, commissioner of Bangka-Belitung Timah Sejahtera, a consortium of 10 smelters, told Dow Jones. The monsoon season in the area usually runs from November through the first quarter.
Ismiyardi estimates the smelting consortium will receive around 3,500 tonnes of tin ore this month, down from the monthly average of 4,500 tonnes. “We’re still calculating how much of an impact the decreased ore supplies will have on production. We usually produce between 2,700-3,000 tonnes of refined tin each month” he said.
Meanwhile state tin company PT Timah also said that its production was lower, but not as a result of the weather. "Competition from the consortium’s smelters for tin ore has had more of an impact on supply than the rains," said Prasetyo Saksono, the company’s corporate secretary.
