Vinto Trims Production Forecast

Dec. 16 -- Bolivian state tin producer Empresa Metalurgica Vinto (EMV) will finish the year with output of 11,600 tonnes, company head Ramiro Villavicencio told BNamericas. In June the company forecast production of 13,000 tonnes as a result of the incorporation of the antimony plant to the production process, but this goal will not be achieved. 2009 output from the plant was 11,801 tonnes. He also reported that there was a new policy for managing inventories at the company that aims to reach zero stock: “The objective of the policy is that once the concentrates are purchased, the process to create metallic tin ready for export can be carried out in four days."

In a separate interview Villavicencio said that civil work for the installation of a new Ausmelt plant was due to start imminently and that the government has made a payment of US$10.5 million to complete the US$25.5 million investment required for the project.

Official data shows that refined tin production at Vinto in the first nine months of 2010 amounted to 8,647 tonnes, a marginal 0.3% higher than in January-September last year. In the same period total Bolivian mine output of tin-in-concentrate rose by 8.7%, but most of the increase came from small mines and co-operatives which export part of their production. Production from the state-owned Huanuni mine increased by 2.9% to 7,318 tonnes.