Traditional exploration has been undertaken by both local and overseas
experts to discover tin deposits in Indonesia over almost 300 years.
Indonesia is part of a tin belt which runs from Myanmar in the north
through Malaysia to Singkep, Bangka, and Belitung islands in Indonesia
in the south. The discovery of alluvial tin deposits is becoming harder as the more
obvious geological targets are exhausted and topographical conditions
become more difficult. New approaches are required to sustain successful
exploration. There are indications that tin deposits can be found at depth on-shore
as well as off-shore. These deposits are found associated with tough
clays. On-shore tin exploration is hampered by swampy areas, while the
off-shore search is often affected by difficult sea conditions. These
factors lead to increases in the cost of exploration as well as the cost of
subsequent production. Tin price fluctuations and environmental issues
are also of major concern in the planning of the future operation of tin
mining in Indonesia.