The state controlled tin company PT Timah is since February 23 the only company in Indonesia with an export permit from the Trade ministry. Timah’s licence was granted last Friday, but other applications by seven independent smelters were turned down.
The Indonesian trade ministry rejected the smelters’ initial applications on the grounds that the supporting documents needed to be certified as true copies by local authorities, officials at several smelters told Metal Bulletin.
The seven producers were not aware of the requirement when they submitted applications to the ministry in early- and mid-February, officials said. They had previously been granted operating permits and supported in their applications by the governor of Bangka Belitung province, who failed to win re-election in local polls last week. Officials now hope to obtain approval sometime between March and June.
PT Timah accounted for around a third of Indonesian refined tin production of some 125,000 tonnes in 2006 and is planning to produce 48 – 50,000 tonnes in 2007. The status of the other large Indonesian producer, PT Koba Tin, which planned to produce 17,000 tonnes this year but is under police investigation, remains unclear.
