Tin manufacturer MSC sets deadline for force majeure

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Malaysian smelting group (MSC) has set a date for the release of force majeure.

In a notice sent to ITA by MSC, the company announced that it would no longer act under the force majeure clause from midnight on December 20, 2021.

Force majeure has existed since June 7, 2021. At that time, after the rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, the government called on most of the country's industries to close operations, forcing MSC to stop smelting.

In recent months, the company has been slowly expanding its business as Malaysia's blockade is relaxed. According to the company's chief executive, Dr. Patrick Yong, the company gives priority to its processing partners rather than buying tin concentrates.

Although the company plans to lift force majeure immediately, the notice warns that it may take some time for production at the smelter to return to pre-epidemic levels.

ITA believes that despite the increasing number of infections with the Omicron variant around the world, MSC now thinks it is safe enough to start increasing capacity again. In Malaysia, about 79 per cent of the population has received comprehensive vaccination, significantly higher than the global average of 43 per cent. This will help ease tensions in the tin market; although spot demand outside China has fallen in recent months, most producers are still operating.