Timah Says 2011 Refined Tin Output Fell 6 Percent

Mar. 30 -- PT Timah, Indonesia's largest tin miner, said refined tin production fell 6 percent to 38,132 tonnes last year.

In a statement on Thursday, Timah, the world's largest exporter of tin and second-largest producer of refined tin, gave no reason for the fall.

In an effort to push global prices above $23,000 per tonne, tin smelters in the main producing region of Bangka-Belitung islands imposed a brief ban on exporting ingots from October, but the embargo did not hold.

"The 'moratorium movement' was a protest from Indonesian tin producers against traders who used (the) economic crisis in Europe to decrease (the) global refined tin price," Timah said.

It said that during the export stoppage, the company ceased all spot sales but continued to service contractual agreements.

According to the company's website, the company has tin mining rights for 522,460 hectares of area, both on-shore and off-shore in or around Indonesia's main tin producing region of Bangka-Belitung.

Total exports of tin in Indonesia, the world's top producer and exporter, rose almost 4 percent to 96,019.76 tonnes in 2011.

On Thursday, tin prices on the London Metal Exchange traded at about $22,225 a tonne, and have gained about 16 percent this year.