The Bisie Tin Mine Resumed Production, SHFE Tin Opened Lower and Closed Higher [SHFE Market Closing Review on April 10]

Overnight, both SHFE tin and LME tin experienced significant declines. The most-traded SHFE tin contract fell by over 9% during the night session, hitting a low of more than four months, before narrowing the loss to 5.72%. LME three-month tin closed down by $2,779, or 8.52%, after a drop of up to 11% during the session, mainly dragged by expectations of increased supply. During the day session, macro sentiment improved significantly, and SHFE tin fluctuated upward. By the close, the loss of the most-traded contract narrowed to 0.86%, settling at 257,200 yuan/mt.

Alphamin Resources announced that its Bisie tin mine in eastern DRC will resume operations. Previously, Alphamin suspended operations at the Bisie mine on March 13, 2025, due to the approach of non-state armed groups. The company has now initiated a "phased resumption" plan, gradually recalling employees and restarting production while closely monitoring the security situation. The company stated that after the evacuation of the mining area in March, the logistics for concentrate exports remained smooth, and the mining area maintained basic maintenance and safety work. From January 1 to the suspension on March 13, the Bisie mine produced 4,270 mt of tin concentrates. The Bisie mine is the world's third-largest tin mine (with an annual capacity of 20,000 mt), producing 17,300 mt of tin concentrates in 2024, accounting for about 6% of global tin supply. The company originally planned to increase annual production to 20,000 mt in 2025. With the resumption of the Bisie mine, the tight situation in tin supply has eased somewhat. Attention will now turn to the resumption times of tin mines in Myanmar and MSC refined tin in Indonesia.

Recently, the spot market has continued to see active trading, with most downstream and end-user companies continuing to purchase and partially restock. Most back-priced orders have also been settled. Traders reported that yesterday's transactions mostly involved 2-3 truckloads, with customers showing strong willingness to inquire and purchase. Smelters, however, still hold a cautious attitude, holding back cargoes. Overall, the spot market remains active, and social inventory of tin ingots is expected to see significant destocking this week.

Regarding the future market, Jinrui Futures commented that the resumption of tin mining in DRC yesterday led to a continued sharp decline in tin prices. On the fundamentals side, there is pressure on immediate smelting raw materials domestically, but the resumption in DRC is expected to weaken the raw material imbalance in the future. On the consumption side, recent price fluctuations have significantly weakened downstream procurement. Looking at short-term prices, considering that the macro short-term impact has not yet ended, prices may still have room for further correction.