[colored Changwen] read the current situation of tin ore in order to become "tin" hope star science popularization first!

SMM10, 18 March-Tin, as one of the most famous "hardware"-gold, silver, copper, iron and tin, mainly exists in the form of oxides (cassiterite) and various sulfides (such as cassiterite). It plays an extremely important role in industrial China. Because of its soft texture, low melting point and strong plasticity, it can have a variety of surface treatment processes and can be made into a variety of styles of products, so as early as in ancient times, People discovered and began to use tin.

In nature, tin mainly exists in the form of natural elements, metal mutants, oxides, hydroxide, sulfur salt, silicate, borate and so on. At present, more than 50 kinds of tin minerals and tin-bearing minerals have been found, among which the main minerals of industrial significance are cassiterite, yellow tin ore, cylindrical tin ore, sulfur-tin lead ore and stibnite. Although the average content of tin in the earth's crust is only 0.004%, which is a relatively rare and expensive metal, there is still a great demand for tin because of its important role in electronics and other industries. Especially with the development of modern science and technology, many special tin alloys have been made of tin, which are used in atomic energy industry, electronic industry, semiconductor devices, superconducting materials, spaceship manufacturing and other cutting-edge technical departments.

The world tin resources are mainly distributed in China, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil, Malaysia, Bolivia, Russia, Thailand and Australia. China is not only the largest country of tin resources reserve and tin supply in the world, but also the largest country of tin consumption in the world. China's tin consumption is almost equal to the total consumption of Europe and the United States as a whole. Therefore, the supply and demand of tin in China has an extremely important impact on the global supply and demand of tin. Tin deposits in China are mainly concentrated in Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong and Jiangxi. The reserves of tin ore resources in these six provinces account for 97.89% of the country's identified reserves. At present, a major source of tin ore supply in China is tin deposits from Myanmar.

Myanmar tin mine: rich in resources but declining in mining grade year after year

The northern WA State of Myanmar is rich in mineral resources, especially a variety of non-ferrous metal minerals such as tin, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, manganese, iron, gold and so on. The entire WA mineral resources are roughly divided into three parts:

1. Nandeng Jinchang mining area, belongs to the earliest discovery, the main minerals are zinc oxide, lead-zinc ore, zinc sulfide, other minerals have no scale.

2. In Longtan mining area, the main minerals are tin ore, lead-zinc deposit and gold deposit.

3. Manxiang (Bangka) mining area, the largest scale at present, the main minerals are tin ore, lead-zinc mine, Bangyang antimony mine. Among them, the Bangkaxi polymetallic deposit and the Bangyang antimony mine belong to the mining area newly discovered in recent years. The civil mining activities in the territory are becoming more and more exuberant, with many ore deposits (points) and wide distribution. In the past three years, hundreds of thousands of tons of tin-rich and antimony-rich ores have been mined and exported to China.

From the point of view of geographical location, the Bangka mining area is located in Bangka area, Man Xiang District, Mengneng County, WA State, Myanmar. The geographical coordinates are 98 °46 45 "- 98 °47 34" east longitude and 22 °25 25 "- 22 °26 16" north latitude. The mining area is a middle alpine landform, and the vegetation is more developed. At present, the mining and mineralization area is about 20 to 30 square kilometers. The main mineral components of the ore are cassiterite, galena (locally containing silver), sphalerite, brittle stibnite, pyrite, quartz, calcite and so on.

The consumption of domestic tin raw materials is mainly solder, tinplate (also known as tinplate), chemical products, its consumption accounts for nearly 80% of the total. According to relevant data, global tin consumption in 2017 was 362000 tons, up 6.1 per cent from a year earlier. Domestic tin consumption in 2017 was about 161000 tons. The consumption of solder industry in the lower reaches of tin has increased slightly, and the amount of tin used in the solder industry in 2017 is about 110000 tons.

Tin consumption structure in China:

In terms of refined tin consumption of tin solder, according to statistics, in 2015, refined tin consumption was about 95000 tons, in 2016, refined tin consumption was about 105000 tons, and in 2017, refined tin consumption was about 112000 tons. The consumption of refined tin shows a trend of slow increase.

Production performance in other major producing countries is flat the global tin market is facing a shortage

Indonesia: declining year by year

From 2013 to 2016, Indonesia's total export volume of tin ingots decreased year by year, and the decline was relatively obvious. Compared with the previous export volume of about 100000 tons per year, it has dropped to more than 60, 000 tons at present, but last year, its export volume data recovered somewhat. It has risen to about 70, 000 tons, and according to SMM's current analysis, its exports this year will be about the same as last year.

Indonesia's export volume of tin ingots over the years: (in tons)

At present, Indonesia is centralizing the management of some private mines and private smelters, so it is not expected that there will be much increase in its tin production. In March and April this year, due to delays in the issuance of tin export quotas and export licenses at that time, exports of Indonesian tin ingots were suspended for a period of time. Tin export quotas were previously issued by the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Resources, but now that power has been transferred to Indonesia's Ministry of Trade, so its final output and export volume will still depend on the adjustment of export quotas.

Malaysia: approximate depletion

Malaysia's mineral resources have been exhausted, but it is understood that its smelting capacity still has a certain amount, with Malaysian production of 27200 tons in 2017, an increase of 1.5 per cent from 2016.

Peru: severe consumption

Peru's mineral resources are also seriously consumed, and the tin grade of one of its most important mines has also continued to decline year after year. According to relevant data, its total ore handling capacity increased by 5% in 2017 compared with the same period last year. But production of metals was only 17800 tons, down 5% from a year earlier, also due to a decline in grade. It is understood that the production of a local tin ingot manufacturer in Peru is currently 18000 tons, down 8% from the same period last year, and SMM expects production to decline slightly this year.

Bolivia:

As the third largest tin resource reserve country in the world, Bolivia's national tin ingot production in 2017 is about 17000 tons, and production in 2018 is expected to increase slightly. Supply is expected to be increased mainly because Bolivian state-owned mining companies completed a new separation site in 2014, with a matching tailing reservoir, which was put into use in the second half of 2017.

From the perspective of tin production in various countries, its scale is still relatively small compared with China, and their future tin production prospects are not expected to increase significantly. Therefore, as far as the global tin market is concerned, China has a greater impact on tin supply. If China's output decreases due to the contraction of tin mines, the global tin market will be greatly affected, and the global tin market will also face a shortage pattern.

Production trends in other major producing countries over the years:

SMM tin supply side forecast

For the future tin supply side, SMM believes that, in terms of ore, domestic mines will be affected by the normalization of resource protection, safety and environmental protection inspection, and the output growth will be suppressed. After the imported ore supply enters the downward channel, the future market should pay attention to the dynamics of new ore sources and the impact of tin price changes on imported ore supply. In terms of tin ingots, domestic production capacity is basically stable, even if there is new capacity, it is difficult to put into production (environmental protection, raw material problems); the situation of oversupply is gradually improving, and the normalization of raw material problems and environmental protection inspection will inhibit the release of tin ingot output. At the same time, the future market should pay attention to the impact of changes in China's tin export policy.

Source & Special thanks: SMM Tin Research team, Electronic Tin Solder Materials Branch of China Electronic Materials Industry Association, Gejiu Qiandao Metal Co., Ltd.