Sucofindo to cooperate with tin companies to increase exports

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands, Dec 11 (Antaranews Babel) - Superintending Company of Indonesia, or Sucofindo, will partner with three private tin companies (smelters) in Bangka Belitung Islands Province to boost tin exports that have been declining in recent months.

"So far, we have only collaborated with PT Timah Tbk. At present, three private companies are in the process of joining in order to increase tin exports," Commercial Director of Sucofindo II Haris Wicaksono stated here, Tuesday.

He revealed that the three smelters currently in the process of forging cooperation with Sucofindo are PT Refined Bangka Tin, PT Artha Cipta Langgeng, and PT Mitra Stania Prima.

"We are always open to anyone keen to cooperate. If all this time there is only PT Timah, it does not mean there are special conditions or preferential treatment," he clarified.

According to Wicaksono, since the issuance of Trade Ministerial Regulation M078 of 2012 on exports, private companies are no longer free to export tin overseas. Hence, Sucofindo has provided information on the stages and procedures as well as how it conducts verification.

"We are actually open. Anyone approaching Sucofindo will be served as long as the applicant has fulfilled the stipulated conditions. Our duty is to serve," he emphasized, adding that Sucofindo was also tasked with conducting a verification process to identify the originality of tin and tin exports.

Deni Yuswantini, as vice president of SBU Mineral, stated that as a surveyor, Sucofindo needs to be aware of the mining operations of its customers.

"We check out where the coordinates are, and then we conduct a survey on their mining sites. We then prepare a report on the origin of the product before they purify it," Yuswantini noted.

After the verification of the product`s origin is issued, the mining company will report to the Energy and Mineral Resources Office to obtain an export permit. If the export quota is issued, they will begin conducting the smelting process.

"When the smelting process begins, Sucofindo is present again to ensure that the materials are the same as that stipulated in the verification document," Yuswantini explained.

Meanwhile, Head of the Provincial Statistics Agency Darwis Sitorus remarked that the amount of tin exports in October 2018 fell 33.69 percent due to the decline in mineral resources in the area.

"The decline in tin production not only affects exports but also the local economic growth," he pointed out.