By Anil Mathews (ScrapMonster Author)
October 12, 2015 07:39:09 AM
The tin concentrate output from world's leading mines has reported sharp decline during recent months.Leading tin mines report significant drop in production
JAKARTA (Scrap Monster): The latest data from leading tin mines across the globe indicates that tin production has witnessed considerable decline during recent times. The key mines to report significant drop in tin production were Peru’s San Rafael and Australia’s Renison mines.

The official monthly mine production data released by Peru’s Energy and Mines Ministry on Friday indicates that tin concentrate production at San Rafael mine has dropped significantly during the month of August this year. The production fell by almost 5.7% during the month to 1,693 tonnes. The concentrate output from the mine had totaled 1,795 tonnes in August last year. The combined concentrate production during the initial eight-month period of the year totaled 12,815 tonnes, falling considerably by 14.5% when matched with the production during the corresponding period last year.

The concentrate output has remained fairly stable in the range between 1,600 tonnes to 1,700 tonnes per month for most of the year. Going by this trend, the yearly concentrate output is likely to total around 20,000 tonnes. The company had guided for 20,000 tonnes to 22,000 tonnes annual production during the entire year 2015.

Meantime, the unaudited production figures released by L'Sea Resources indicate that the production totaled 562 tonnes in September this year from the Australian Renison mines, a joint venture project with Chinese firm. The production is down by 16.7% when matched with the production of 675 tonnes during the same month last year. The cumulative production during the nine-month period totaled 4,927 tonnes, more or less flat when compared with the combined production during the first three quarters of 2014.

The drop in production is partly attributed to the processing halt that resulted due to earthquake during the month of August this year. The temporary stoppage of mining operations may result in slight reduction in yearly production levels in 2015 when compared with the previous year.