ZHUHAI, Mar 21 (SMM) – Raw materials supply troubles are likely to continue to weigh on production of refined tin in China in 2019, said Li Ziyan, senior tin analyst from SMM.

China’s output of refined tin shrank 5.7% from 2017 to stand at 155,000 mt in 2018, Li told delegates at the SMM Tin Summit on Thursday March 21 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. She attributed the losses in production to tighter supplies of tin ore, as the impact from environmental probes faded.

With the Chinese New Year holiday in early February, output of refined tin in China came in at only 22,000 mt in the first two months of 2019.

According to the chart showed Li to the delegates at the meeting, domestic production of tin ore has been on the decline since 2014. Li doesn’t expect a rebound in tin ore output this year, given rigorous environmental probes and safety checks.

For tin miners in Inner Mongolia, Yinman Mining, who planned to increase production to 6,000 mt in 2018, has been required to suspend for rectification after a severe incident in February, while the other two mines have no plan to expand capacity.

Li expects tin ore imports to continue to fall in 2018, after dropping 25% in 2018.