SMM Tin Summit: Environmental factor to weigh on tin ingot production in 2018

SHENZHEN, Aug 30 (SMM) – Continued environmental restrictions across China is set to weigh on production of tin ingot this year, according to SMM senior analyst Wu Xiaofeng.

Tight supplies of raw materials also accounted for the lower output estimates, she believes. Across major tin ore production areas in the south, including Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, several mines have failed to resume operation as expected, due to stricter environmental and safety probes, Wu said at the SMM Tin Summit on Thursday August 30 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. 

She expects domestic output of tin ingot to come in at 160,000 mt this year, down 3-4% from 2017. From January to July, China produced 91,000 mt of tin ingot, down 11.2% from the same period last year, SMM data showed. 

Separately, tin ore imports from Burma have declined on a yearly basis since 2015, when imports rose to a record high. Rising costs of mining and shrinking tin ore resourses there lowered imports, Wu said.