Provisional data from the Brazilian tin association Sindicato Nacional da Indústria da Extração do Estanho (SNIEE), recently provided to ITRI, shows a slump in the country’s tin production to levels last seen before its 1980s boom in activity. Brazil’s refined tin production last year is estimated to have fallen by 36% to 6,651 tonnes, the lowest since the mid-1970s. The drop is strongly influenced by a 59% fall in production from Taboca’s smelter in Sao Paulo to only 1,123 tonnes, but apart from one small plant run by a co-operative all other reporting plants in the country also reported a decline in production. Brazil’s largest producer of refined tin in 2010 was White Solder, which produced 1,821 tonnes, 17% lower than the previous year.
Meanwhile national mine production is provisionally reported to have dropped by 30% to 7,316 tonnes – the lowest level since 1980. Production at Taboca’s Pitinga mine fell by 45% to 1,451 tonnes as the operations were extensively re-organised. The largest mining operation last year was the Coopersanta co-operative, which mined 2,154 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate, down 18% on the previous year.
