ITRI reports that “in a recent official presentation made by the Bolivian government, a review of its achievements and ambitions included details of its plans to increase tin production at state enterprises. By 2025, refined tin production at the Vinto smelter is targeted at 30,000 t, supported by expanded combined mine production of some 22,600 t of tin-in-concentrate from the Huanuni and Colquiri mines. The growth in refined metal production is from a provisionally estimated total of 11,402 t in 2013. With the labour force at the Vinto plant expected to rise only slightly from 419 currently to 450, productivity is seen as jumping from 27 to 67 t/y per head.

For the Huanuni mine, production is forecast to rise from 7,897 t last year to 14,610 t/y, following the completion of the current expansion project which is expected to be fully operative from 2015. The Huanuni workforce is expected to decline from 4,413 to 3,973, so productivity will rise from 1.8 to 3.3 t/y per head. At Colquiri tin production is forecast to rise from 3,312 t of tin-in-concentrate in 2013 to 8,033 t by 2025, while zinc production is seen rising from 14,764 t to 47,414 t.