Indonesia hands over six seized tin smelters to state miner

Indonesia handed over six seized tin smelters to state miner PT Timah, the latest move in the country’s crackdown on illegal mining.

Smelters of five companies in Bangka Belitung Islands Province that were seized in a corruption probe last year were handed over to the state-owned firm, President Prabowo Subianto told reporters Monday near the local capital of Pangkalpinang. He said the seized smelters and raw minerals were worth about 6 trillion rupiah to 7 trillion rupiah ($362 million to $422 million).

Among the assets seized in the province — Indonesia’s main tin-producing region — was PT Refined Bangka Tin, once one of the largest private players in the sector.

Prabowo has pledged to crack down on illegality in the country’s sprawling commodities sector in order to stem state losses. Palm oil plantations and parts of nickel mines have already been seized as part of the push.

Illegal mining is a deep-rooted issue in Indonesia and stopping it has the potential to disrupt exports of key commodities. Tin prices are already up 5% this month as traders bet on lower flows of the metal from the Southeast Asian country, which is the world’s second biggest producer.

(By Eddie Spence and Norman Harsono)