Yunnan Tin Company, the world’s largest tin producer, stopped production at its main smelting facility on December 8 due to low prices and a lack of tin concentrates, a director at its trade department told Reuters on today.
“We stopped production and it will be at least for one month,” Matthew Zhou, assistant to the company’s general manager, told Bloomberg by phone from Yunnan. The company will likely produce about 50,000 tonnes this year, compared with earlier forecasts of 62,000 tonnes, he said. YTC produced 61,129 tonnes in 2007
YTC had already announced at the start of last month that it planned to cut output by about 30% in the fourth quarter. In a statement filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange it said "The company will make timely adjustments to output based on changes in tin prices and sales to maximize overall efficiency." The smelter in Gejiu had only recently undergone a major maintenance shutdown in July-August. YTC also controls a small smelter in Chenzhou, Hunan province.
