By Eric Onstad
LONDON (Reuters) -Tin shipments from Myanmar’s Wa State are expected to resume in coming months after a nearly two-year-old ban, the International Tin Association said on Wednesday.
Speculation by traders this week that mining would resume has weighed on tin prices, which touched a three-week low on Wednesday.
The metal, mainly used for solder in electronics and semiconductors, fell 1.6% to $32,775 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange by 1505 GMT, the weakest since June 25.
Myanmar is the world’s third-largest tin producer and China’s biggest supplier, while Wa State produces 70% of Myanmar’s tin exports.
The United Wa State Army, a militia associated with Myanmar’s ethnic Wa minority, controls large parts of Wa State. It suspended all work at mines in areas it controls in August 2023 to protect mining resources.
The UWSA has a long-standing ceasefire with Myanmar’s military rulers but still maintains a force of between 30,000 and 35,000 personnel, equipped with modern weaponry mainly sourced from China, according to Ye Myo Hein, a senior fellow at the Southeast Asia Peace Institute.
“After limited progress in recent months — with the elevated licensing fees creating a stumbling block — we understand that several operators at Man Maw have now secured three-year mining permits,” said Tom Langston, senior market intelligence analyst at the ITA.
“Shipments from the autonomous region are expected to resume in the coming months. However, strict controls on the movement of equipment and personnel remain ongoing uncertainties,” he added.
Also weighing on the market are rising LME tin inventories, which have climbed by a fifth so far this year and are at their highest since August 2021.
(Reporting by Eric OnstadEditing by Frances Kerry)
