Koba tin to suspend smelting operations

Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC) said that it would suspend mining and smelting operations at its majority-owned Indonesian tin unit, PT Koba Tin due to the lower prices and slowing demand from China, The Jakarta Post reported.

MSC?s decision to halt operations at PT Koba Tin precedes the expiry next March31 of its mining contract, or contract of work (CoW) for the unit, which is 75 percent owned by MSC and 25 percent by Indonesia ?s largest tin miner, PT Timah.

?Due to continuing losses at PT Koba Tin and having evaluated the available options, PT Koba Tin has decided to suspend its entire mining and smelting operations to minimize further losses pending the renewal of CoW,? MSC said in its third quarter results release on Tuesday.

The company reported losses of 41,465 ringgit ($13,500) for the nine months that ended in September, compared to a profit of 106,389 ringgit for the corresponding period a year earlier.

?The operating environment continues to be difficult and challenging due to weaker demand and low prices for commodities arising from the prevailing global economic uncertainties including sovereign debt concerns, economic recession in Europe and slower growth in China;? it said.

Unlisted Koba Tin was the 11 biggest producer of refined tin in 2010, at 6,644 tons.

The government has asked PT Timah to take over the operations of PT Koba Tin when its contract expires in 2013, an official at the state-owned firm said in August.(*)