Tin rallied more than nine per cent after Alphamin Resources Corp. said it’s evacuating a mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to the advance of insurgent militant groups.
The producer has temporarily halted operations at the Bisie site in Eastern Congo, one of the largest tin mines in the world. The safety of its employees and contractors cannot be assured, and only essential personnel will remain, the Toronto-listed company said in a statement.
Congo’s east has been wracked by conflict for three decades, but now the Rwandan-backed M23 militant group is gaining territory in North Kivu province, where Alphamin’s mines are based.
The rebels took control of routes that lead straight to the company’s projects, after taking the provincial capital, Goma, in January.
Alphamin shares plunged as much as 43% in Toronto on Thursday, touching the lowest since 2021.
The M23’s occupation had not previously affected Alphamin’s operations or exports, which are sent by road northeast to Uganda.
The militants took the two biggest cities in eastern Congo earlier this year after Angolan-mediated talks broke down. The conflict has displaced a million people and killed thousands.
Tin prices rose 7.4% to settle at $35,900 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, after earlier surging 9.3% to the highest level since June 2022. Other LME main metals also gained, with copper up 0.1%% while zinc climbed 1.3%.
Mark Burton and Yvonne Yue Li, Bloomberg News
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