Antara 11 Jan 10;
Pangkalpinang (ANTARA News) - PT Timah Tbk in Bangka Belitung (Babel) province is to apply the "block system" in its tin mining area in 2010 to increase efficiency in mining and protect the environment, a spokesman said.
"The block system will be applied on on-shore mines by creating a canal around our 20-50 hectare mining area for greater efficiency in our mining operations and protect the environment," the company`s director, Wahid Usman, said here Monday.
The block system would also make it easier to determine the volume of production and delineate PT Timah`s mining areas and prevent theft, he said.
"The block system is part of our strategy to increase tin production in 2010," he said.
Encircled by a canal as part of the block system, the mining areas would also be easier to watch over because supervisors could then focus on certain points in the field.
"The block system will also allow us to dispose of mining waste and facilitate reclamation or restoration of land damaged by mining activity," he said.
PT Timah was determined to become a world-class mining company and a leader in the global tin market, he said.
"Right now, the tin price is determined by traders. We produce the tin but others determine the price and this is clearly not to our benefit. This condition can not be avoided because it is part of the market mechanism," he said.
But to address the problem , PT Timah was preparing several effective measures to maximize its capability to turn out finished products such as soldering tin.
"To increase tin production which has declined lately, we will maximize production of such goods as soldering tin or `chemical tin` " , he said.
The company had started to optimize the production of soldering tin but its production capacity was still relatively small, namely only 2,000 tons per year, he said.(*)
