According to a letter obtained by, Malaysia Smelting Corp. (MSC), a major tin producer in the world, informed customers that its deliveries had been affected by an explosion of a gas pipe.

The state-owned energy giant Petronas operates a large gas pipeline in Puchong, on the outskirts Kuala Lumpur. MSC reported that gas supplies were disrupted, even though the fire had been extinguished.

MSC didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.

The letter dated April 3 stated that "due to the recent natural-gas pipeline explosion incident in Putra Heights, Selangor Malaysia, on the 1st of April 2025, our smelting facility has been interrupted until further notice."

There is currently no timetable for the return of gas supplies. We will continue to follow up with all the agencies involved and keep our customers updated once the smelting facility is back in operation.

According to the latest figures on the company website, MSC will produce more than 21, 000 metric tons in 2023 of solder metal used to manufacture semiconductors. This would be more than 5% the global supply, estimated to be around 390,000.

The London Metal Exchange saw a jump in the price of tin to $38,395 per ton, its highest level in almost three years. This was due to concerns about supply caused by disruptions in Myanmar and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tin was also under pressure, along with other metals on the LME on Friday. This is due to fears of a recession sparked by President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Tin prices were down 4.9% to $35,520 per ton. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman, David Evans and Pratima Dasai)

(source: Reuters)