ITRI recently held an International Tin Conference in Vancouver, Canada, which over 180 delegates attended. There were 30 speakers who presented papers on production, consumption, investment, trade and regulations. Some of the main points identified are:
• China continues to provide massive support to tin and other metals markets,
• Tin consumption has recovered strongly this year,
• Investment in new mine capacity is patchy,
• Artisanal mining and “conflict minerals” remain in the spotlight.
An overview of metals presentation was provided by Phil Macoun, CRU, who discussed the wider impact of the growth in Chinese consumption on metals. In tin China has rapidly been transformed from being a large net exporter to a net importer, with supply being increasingly constrained by raw materials availability. This is despite YTC’s new mine project and increased recycling.
Global solder shipments in the first quarter of 2010 were over 50% higher than the very depressed first quarter of 2009. This preliminary statistic was highlighted in a presentation given by IPC. Nevertheless there are still concerns about tin use, such as a risk of substitution in PVC stabilisers and increasing pressure of regulations affecting many applications.
Despite substantial investments in future supply of tin by companies such as YTC, PT Timah, Minsur and Metals X and one or two new producers starting up in the next couple of years, most other projects discussed have not reached the feasibility study stage yet. Also junior mining companies are facing financing difficulties due to the current economic climate.
A lively debate took place on artisanal mining. There is growing pressure from NGOs and governments to restrict supply from some sources, notably parts of the DR Congo. Against this Jon Hobbs, a UK government and World Bank representative argued that artisanal mining should be seen as a development opportunity and a means of breaking out of the cycle of poverty, if properly managed.
“It was a very successful conference in which various key issues were raised through the densely packed presentation programme;” comments Peter Kettle, Manager of Statistics and Market Studies. “There was a general up-beat feeling surrounding the current state of the tin market, although this was tempered by concerns about the negative impact of the Euro zone financial crisis.”
