Tin Midday Review, April 22, 2026
This morning, the tin market in and outside China continued to trade in a range-bound pattern overall. The most-traded SHFE tin SN2605 contract pulled back to around 387,000 yuan/mt during the night session, opened at 391,250 yuan/mt this morning and traded in a range, closing at 392,700 yuan/mt, down 0.58%. LME side, three-month LME tin was last quoted at $50,320/mt, up 1.44%, with SHFE and LME maintaining a consistent overall trend.
The macro news front has entered a brief period of calm observation. Trump announced on local time Tuesday an extension of the current temporary ceasefire deadline while maintaining the naval blockade, awaiting the other side's submission of a unified negotiation proposal. Additionally, Fed Chairman nominee Warsh publicly stated that a new framework was needed to address inflation. The subsequent direction of macro policy remains under market assessment and observation.
Ex-China ore side, Alphamin Resources Corp., the operator of the Bisie mine in the DRC, released its latest quarterly report: as of March 31, 2026, Q1 production at the mine was 5,026 mt Sn (vs. 5,008 mt Sn in the previous quarter), maintaining stable output. Benefiting from the rise in tin prices, the company's Q1 EBITDA reached $158 million (vs. $108 million in the previous quarter). As tin prices rose, royalties and export duties calculated as a proportion of prices increased, pushing Q1 all-in sustaining costs (AISC) per mt of tin up 7% QoQ to $17,968. In addition, while rising fuel prices did not affect Q1, they are expected to impact Q2. Since early March, the company has been purchasing additional fuel at a 25%–35% premium; the mine site currently holds approximately 30 days of diesel reserves, with another approximately 75 days of supply in transit, ensuring short-term energy supply security.
Spot market side, during the night session price decline yesterday, a small volume of rigid-demand orders were transacted. Entering this morning's session, futures consolidated and held steady, with elevated price levels limiting follow-through buying. Downstream enterprises overall maintained a wait-and-see stance, with all parties remaining cautious about the subsequent price trend.
Overall, the macro news front has paused, futures lacked the momentum for a unilateral breakout, and the spot side was constrained by elevated absolute prices with trading remaining sluggish. Tin prices are expected to continue wild swings in the near term.
