JOHANNESBURG () – Alphamin Resources announced that they resumed tin production at their Bisie mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday following the withdrawal of rebels from the neighboring town of Walikale.
The mining company stated they are currently treating accumulated stocks of tin ore, with plans to restart operations at their underground site later this month as additional staff members return to work.
In March, Alphamin briefly suspended activities at Bisie, responsible for approximately 6% of yearly global tin production, due to an insurgency supported by Rwanda advancing towards the nearby town of Walikale in Congo’s east region.
The M23 insurgent group quickly advanced towards Walikale following their capture of Goma and Bukavu earlier in the year, which are important urban centers located in Congo’s North and South Kivu regions.
The insurgents retreated from the town at the beginning of this month following an agreement to engage in discussions with the government as part of a peace accord facilitated by the U.S. administration.
The firm, which is listed in Toronto, also announced that it has restarted exporting the metal utilized in the production of semiconductors.
Alphamin has revised its production outlook for tin downwards to 17,500 tons for this year, down from the initially anticipated 20,000 tons, due to disruptions. The company had previously mined around 17,000 tons of the metal in the previous year.
In the three-month period ending in March, production fell by 18%, dropping to around 4,300 tons from approximately 5,200 tons in the previous quarter, as stated by Alphamin.
(Reported by Felix Njini from Johannesburg. Edited by Jane Merriman and Toby Chopra)
