MSC hopes to resume Bangka tin mining ops

Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC) hopes to resume its small-scale tin mining operations in Bangka Island as soon as possible to enable it to contribute about 30 percent of total production to its 75 percent-owned unit, PT Koba Tin.

PT Koba is Indonesia's second biggest tin miner and producer.

Its group chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Ajib Anuar, said MSC was still in talks with the local authority after it was prohibited from continuing its small-scale mining in its contract work area following police probe into alleged illegal mining by two sub-contactors.

"We are still talking to the government. We hope it will be resolved soon," he told reporters after the Malaysian Chamber of Mines' annual luncheon here Tuesday.

Ajib said the tin price would remain high this year as Indonesia's total tin production and export were expected to dip following a more stringent regulation on small-scale mining and exhaustion of reserves.

"Last year, Indonesia exported around 100,000 tonnes, so this year I think it will be substantially less.

"They (Indonesian government) want to have a more regulated mining by the small-scale miners and there is also the question of exhaustion of reserves.

"That should help sustain tin price at high level hopefully," he said.

Indonesia is the world's largest tin exporter and second largest producer.(*)