Tin hits two-month low as major mine in Congo resumes production

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Tin prices slumped to two-month lows on Wednesday after major producer Alphamin Resources Corp AFM.V said it was launching a phased resumption of operations at its Bisie mine in Democratic Republic of Congo.

A month ago, Alphamin ceased operations at Bisie, which produces about 6% of global tin supplies a year, as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced nearby, taking the strategic town of Walikale.

The insurgents have now withdrawn from Walikale, more than 130 km (80 miles) to the east of Alphamin's mine, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Prices of the soldering metal on the London Metal Exchange (LME) tumbled 8.3% to $29,910 a metric ton by 1121 GMT, after hitting $29,705, its lowest since February 3.

The fate of the Bisie mine in war-hit eastern Congo was a point of discussion during the recent visit to Kinshasa by U.S. President Donald Trump's senior Africa adviser, four sources briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

Alphamin will now redeploy employees to the mining site while it continues to monitor the security situation, the company said, adding that tin concentrate export logistics continued without interruption.

Between January 1 and April 8, the company exported 4,500 metric tons of contained tin with 280 tons still in transit, Alphamin said. Its contained tin production totalled 4,270 tons in the first quarter until the mining suspension on March 13.

Alphamin produced more than 17,000 tons of the metal used to make semiconductors last year.