Bolivia’s Vinto smelter was forced to reduce output late Friday following disruptions to its natural gas supplies. “We are not totally shut down. Some units at the plant were stopped. We are working at 50 percent because of the issue of natural gas supplies,” Eddy Tellez, a superintendent at Vinto, told Reuters by telephone on Saturday.
Bolivian President Evo Morales declared martial law on Friday in the remote Amazon region of Pando after political violence raged in the country for several days, leaving at least 17 people dead. The Vinto plant is in Oruro, 140 miles (230 km) south of La Paz, in an area that has not been very affected by the violence, but its natural gas comes from the Samaipata pumping station in Santa Cruz, the stronghold of opponents to Morales.
The smelter produced 4,090 tonnes of refined tin in the first half of this year, but had already cut production to 600 tpm for September-October due to financial problems which have forced it to reduce concentrate purchases from the Huanuni mine.
