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ublicly listed tin producer PT Timah has secured a mining permit to develop a tin mine in Myanmar.

Timah president director Sukrisno said last week that his company had obtained the mining permit earlier this month from Myanmar’s Energy Ministry, with the exploration process expected to start next year.

The company will invest US$18 million over a three-year period for the mining site, which is expected to produce 10,000 tons of tins annually, Sukrisna said, adding that the Myanmar mining operation would make PT Timah the largest tin producer in the world.

The tin business in the country has started to recover after seeing a significant slump earlier this year. “It [the price] has increased to $20,000 per metric ton from the [previous price of] $17,000 per metric ton,” Sukarno said as quoted by Kontan daily.

Timah recorded Rp 6 trillion in revenues in the first nine months this year, down 12 percent compared from Rp 6.82 trillion ($708.57 million) in the same period last year, mostly because of the pressure from falling commodity prices that has pushed down its sales.

In addition to the dip in commodity prices, uncertainties on the European debt crisis and a slow recovery in the US have affected demand for tin, particularly in China, Timah’s main market.