Minsur tin output from Pitinga mine rose 25% during H1 2015

By  Paul Ploumis 20 Aug 2015  Last updated at  05:29:22 GMT

SAO PAULO (Scrap Monster): Minsur’s Brazilian subsidiary Taboca has announced increased tin output from its Pitinga mine during the first half of the year. Also, the company stated that it had to temporarily halt production at the mine during the beginning of this month due to power issues at hydroelectric plant. However, production has now resumed, though in limited scale.

According to Minsur, the tin-in-concentrate output from the mine during the initial six months of the current year totaled 3,256 tonnes. This is almost 25% higher when compared with the output during the corresponding six-month period in 2014. The cost of production at the mine has dropped drastically by 18% year-on-year to $14,481 per tonne during the first half of 2015. The Pitinga mine had produced 5,532 tin-in-concentrates during the entire year 2014.

The company release states that water filtrations were found in the hydroelectric plant that provides energy to mine activities. As a result, the plant could work only in half capacity. The company had decided to temporarily suspend operations at the mine.

The hydroelectric plant at the mine is currently being repaired. Meantime, the company has resumed operations at a much reduced capacity. The operations will be stepped up gradually, stated Minsur CEO Juan Luis Kruger. The company is also exploring alternative options including installation of additional power generation capacity. Presently, the company is not in a position to provide any estimate on the impact of the temporary shutdown, Kruger added. He further clarified that the repair works at the plant are unlikely to have any impact on communities.

The company had earlier stated that it intends to increase the production from Pitinga mine by 20-30% in 2015 so as to offset the lower output from San Rafael mine in Peru.