Myanmar’s tin-rich Wa State delays mining resumption meeting after earthquake

Myanmar’s tin-rich Wa State has postponed a meeting to discuss the resumption of mining in the region, a regional spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

The meeting, originally called for Tuesday, was postponed and no alternative date was set, according to a notice dated Monday and confirmed by a Wa State spokesman on Thursday.

The note from the Wa State Industrial Minerals Management Bureau did not mention the earthquake that struck last Friday, killing at least 3,085.

The meeting had raised hopes among traders that an almost two-year ban on mining in the region could soon be lifted. Wa State produces 70% of Myanmar’s tin exports. Myanmar is the world’s third-largest producer and China’s biggest supplier.

A tin trader who works for a company that operates in Myanmar, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was difficult to predict when operations could resume as the extent to which infrastructure and power plants were damaged was unclear.

China’s imports of tin ore from Myanmar more than halved last year, customs data showed.

Increased supply worries as a result of last Friday’s earthquake pushed tin prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange to 299,220 yuan ($40,999.15) per metric ton on April 2, the highest since May 22, 2022.

Tin prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) also hit their highest since May 2022, reaching $38,395 a ton.

Investors’ increased interest in near-term LME futures has driven the premium of cash LME over the three-month futures to $264 a ton, signalling supply tightness, and in a stark contrast to the discount of $79 just two weeks ago.

Unlike the majority of Myanmar, which is under the control of the military junta, Wa State maintains its own political system, military, and economy, effectively making it a state within a state.

Wa banned mining in August 2023 to protect its natural resources.

($1 = 7.2982 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(By Violet Li, Lewis Jackson and Shoon Naing; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

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