LONDON (May 16): Repairing damage to a furnace will temporarily disrupt tin production at Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC), leaving a few clients waiting longer than they normally would for their metal, the company told Reuters.

MSC, a top 10 producer of the soldering metal, with two smelters, processes its own mined tin raw materials and concentrate for other firms sourcing from countries such as Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo.

A spokesperson for MSC said in an email that the disruptions were at the new smelter. "Operations at the new smelter are expected to resume in two weeks ... Only a handful of clients — less than 5 — are affected.

"Disruptions are due to a minor incident where a forklift handler damaged some insulating bricks at the opening of the rotary furnace. For safety and efficiency, the furnace will be temporarily shut down for repairs."

In its annual report, MSC said it produced 19,385 tonnes of tin last year, or 5% of global supplies at 380,400 tonnes.

Benchmark tin prices on the London Metal Exchange were down 1.2% at US$24,700 a tonne at 1341 GMT.