Illegal tin ore exports from Babel still rampant

Illegal exports of tin ore from Babel province are still rampant as traders can ship the commodity to overseas via Java and other islands, South Sumatra-based Sriwijaya Post daily reported Friday.

The paper said that the province?s regulations allowing private enterprises to handle tin ore sale from Babel to other provinces had created ample room for tin ore smuggling to overseas.

The Indonesian government prohibits tin ore exports in an effort to reduce oversupply from Indonesia, which had pressured world tin prices.

?We guess that tin ore from Babel is shipped to overseas via Java and other islands,? Babel Investment And Promotion Board Usman Andeska was quoted as saying Thursday.

Usman said Babel authorities should no longer allow private companies to be involved in tin ore sale from Babel to other provinces.

Tin ore on the world market currently sell for US$4,700 per ton, and this had caused a rise in illegal exports of tin ore from Babel, according to Usman.

State owned PT Timah Tbk, the world?s largest integrated tin smelter, and PT Kobatin, a tin mining firm controlled by Malaysia Corp Bhd of Malaysia, operate in Bangka and Belitung, also part of Babel province. (*)