Bolivia's Vinto tin smelter opens blast furnace

Bolivian state tin miner Empresa Metalúrgica Vinto (EMV) brought online a US$39.5mn blast furnace on Thursday, part of a drive to boost output of the metal used in alloys and electronics.

The Ausmelt furnace, delayed by technical problems since last year, will enable the smelter to produce 15,000t/y, up from 12,000t/y, President Evo Morales said at the opening ceremony in Oruro.

"There's no turning back until we achieve our goal of 15,000 fine metric tons of tin exports. That will make us the world's fifth largest smelter," Vinto CEO Ramiro Villavicencio said at the ceremony, according to state news agency ABI. "We have proved to be a competitive company not just at a national level, but also internationally."

Vinto, which accounts for 75% of Bolivia's refined tin output, has repaid US$28mn to date from a government fund, Villavicencio said.

The smelter, which sells tin to the US, China and Mexico, exported 11,806t of the metal in 2014, a 14-year high, with export earnings totaling US$270mn, according to the company.

Morales, who was sworn in for a third consecutive five year mandate in January, has built up the country's state mining companies since seizing the smelter from Glencore in 2007. Morales yesterday inaugurated a US$50.3mn expansion at state tin miner Empresa Minera Huanuni,