Tin output recovers in Q3, operating costs see sharp drop

By Anil Mathews

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): Major Tin mines have reported increased output during the third quarter of the current year. Also, most companies reported healthy financial results in Q3, mainly on the back of recovery in tin price and reduction in operating costs. Meantime, a few companies have announced plans to expand their operations.

PT Timah- Indonesia’s state-controlled tin company reported strong production during Q3 this year. The mine production totaled 6,865 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate during Q3 this year. The output jumped higher by 9% when matched with the corresponding quarter last year. The Q3 output has surged higher by nearly 20% when compared with the prior quarter. The production from onshore mining operations has almost doubled from the previous quarter.

The refined tin output totaled 6,475 tonnes during Q3 this year, significantly higher by 22% over Q2 this year. However, when matched with Q3 last year, the refined tin output during this quarter fell by almost 2%.

The tin mine production during the initial nine-month period of the year totaled 15,973 tonnes, whereas the refined tin output totaled 15,995 tonnes during this period. The cumulative output during the first three quarters of 2016 has declined sharply by 23% when matched with the output during the corresponding period in 2015.

PT Timah reported profit of nearly $3.8 million during Q3 this year. The revenues dropped by almost 9% when compared with 2015. The cost of revenues too declined significantly by 12% over the previous year. The tin inventory at the end of Q3 totaled 13,846 tonnes, marginally higher than Q2. Tin ore stocks rose 17% to 1,973 tonnes during the quarter. On the other hand, refined tin inventory levels have declined sharply by 35% to 3,790 tonnes. The tin slag stocks remained mostly unchanged at 8,083 tonnes during Q3 2016.

The company stated that it plans to construct a fuming plant at its Muntok smelter in an attempt to boost tin recoveries by controlling the quantity of tin discarded in slags. The company also intends to stream line its operations by laying aside unprofitable operations. At the same time, PT Timah announced its plans to add new mining vessels to increase mining throughput from onshore and offshore operations.

Renison tin mine in Tasmania too reported sharp jump in production to 1,718 tonnes during Q3 this year. The production surged higher by 49% when matched with Q2 and increased by 4.5% when compared with Q3 2015. The output during the initial nine-month period of the year totaled 4,546 tonnes. The ramp up in production signals the possibility of higher tin output from the mine in 2017, as compared with 2015, noted ITRI. However, the yearly output in 2016 is likely to remain lower than the 2015 output of 6,816 tonnes of tin-in concentrate.

Meantime, Australia-based junior Aus Tin Mining which had begun production from its Granville Tin Project in Tasmania in August this year has announced that the company’s production is likely to total around 50 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate during 2016. The company has carried out several measures to increase the throughput. It plans to expand the operation by resuming mining at Granville East Open Pit and constructing a new processing plant at the mine facility.