Comibol's Vinto tin smelter posts lowest output since 2008

Bolivian state mining company Comibol, which is striving to halt production declines at its aging operations, saw 2018 production drop 13% at its Vinto tin smelter to the lowest level in a decade after halting operations for repairs.

The smelter in Oruro department produced 11,000t tin last year, marking the second straight year of declines, state mining company Comibol said in a statement. The complex, which acquires concentrates from Comibol's Colquiri and Huanuni mines, produced 12,637t refined tin last year, down from 13,111t in 2016, according to the company's website.

Comibol closed the 18,000t/d smelter in mid-2018 to change the refractory bricks that line the smelter's US$40mn Ausmelt blast furnace. Technical issues with blast furnaces have affected both Comibol's Vinto and Karachipampa smelters in recent years.

The smelter posted US$229mn in exports in 2018, said Ramiro Villavicencio, general manager of Empresa Metalúrgica de Vinto (EMV). Vinto mainly exports to the US, China, the EU, Mexico and Chile. Tin prices gained 5% over the past 12 months to US$19,550/t this week.

Bolivian mining exports, led by zinc, gold, silver and tin, totaled US$3.32bn through October, accounting for about half of Bolivia's total exports of US$7.65bn, according to the Bolivian foreign trade institute (IBCE).

"The challenge for 2019 is to consolidate new markets," Villavicencio said at a ceremony to commemorate the smelter's 48^th annuiversary.

The company, expropriated from Swiss trader Glencore in 2007, is working on studies for a US$345mn expansion that would increase capacity to 62,000t/y and treat other metals such as indium, gallium, germanium, copper, silver and lead, according to Comibol.

Comibol has been beset by problems in recent years, facing strikes, protests, mineral theft and the closure of its Karachipampa and Vinto smelters and El Mutún iron-steel company due to technical problems. In addition, the Bolivian government this year lost arbitration cases against Quiborax and South American Silver over the expropriation of mining assets.

President Evo Morales, who plans to run for a fourth straight mandate in October, has launched a drive to invest about US$2bn in the mining and metallurgical industries by 2020, including mines, smelters and foundries.

Private investment has plummeted in Bolivia since Morales seized mining assets from companies including Glencore, South American Silver, Quiborax and Jindal Steel after first taking power in 2006. Since then, he has striven to build up state mining company Comibol, which is investing about US$200mn/y in projects.