Thailand’s Ministry of Industry today announced revised royalties for several metals, including gold and tin. Gold royalties have been changed from a flat 2.5% rate to a progressive scale rising up to 20%, which effectively doubles payments at current gold prices. However the existing steeply progressive scale for tin, with marginal rates of up to 60%, has been reduced to a similar scale to that for gold, potentially making investments in tin mining more attractive.
Although the Thaisarco smelter continues to be a major refined tin producer, treating mainly imported concentrates and crude metal, Thai tin mine production has fallen to only around 200 tpy in recent years, compared to peak levels of over 30,000 tpy in the early 1980s.
The last major tin dredging operation in the country, controlled by Tongkah Harbour, ceased operating in 2005. However the company said earlier this year that it could resume production off the coast of Phuket if royalty costs were reduced to a more reasonable level.
