PT Timah doubles exploration budget to boost production

Publicly listed tin mining company, PT Timah, has doubled its exploration budget to about Rp 36 billion this year from Rp 18.09 billion in 2004 in a bid to find more tin deposits in the company's concession area in Bangka, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

PT Timah's president director Thobrani Alwi said in Jakarta on Monday that new exploration activities were being carried out at West Kundur and in the sea area off the Bangka Island.

According to him, the exploration activities had enabled the company to find about 10,617 tons of proven tin deposit, containing tin concentrate of about 0.345 grams per cubic meter. "The new finding is equivalent to one-third of this year's projected production of 35,000 tons," he was quoted as saying.

One of the new exploration sites included Permis, the sea area located between South Sumatra and Bangka Island. Last year, the company found about proven tin deposit of about 14,000 tons in the area.

Thobrani said that PT Timah, one of the world's largest tin producer, stopped its exploration activities in 2002 due to the sharp drop in the tin price to as low as US$4,000 per ton. The tin price had showed a significant increase since then to reach about US$8,000 per ton. (*)