Mining in focus
The greenish colour is an indication of high-grade cassiterite .
New regulations and environmental legislation have put pressure on the output of tin ore and will see the price of refined tin increase in the next couple of years . Today , tin is used in transparent circuit boards and as a solder in electronic devices . Niobium-tin alloy is used for superconducting magnets . The more traditional application is to coat other metals to prevent corrosion , such as in tin cans . Tin is also used in soft solder , pewter , bronze , and phosphor bronze .
Researchers at Stanford University and the Department of Energy ’ s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the USA , have invented a one-atom-thick layer of tin called Stanene . Stanene is the first material able to conduct electricity with 100 % efficiency at room temperature . The addition of a few fluorine atoms maintains this efficiency up to and beyond the temperatures at which computer chips operate .
After the recent surge in tin prices to about USD20 800 a tonne from USD13 350 a tonne in January 2016 , companies are also looking at previously unviable deposits . Tin prices have ranged widely , reaching as high as USD33 000 a tonne in 2011 .
Geological setting
Cassiterite is considered to be the only economically significant tin mineral in the earth ’ s crust , and in its purest form has a tin content of 78.6 %. Cassiterite is mainly found in quartz-pegmatite veins , along with a number of other minerals . The pegmatite veins are usually associated with evolved granitic host rocks . There is particular interest in pegmatite deposits that host both tin and lithium mineralisation .
Underpinning surging tin prices are a shortage of new mines and European Union legislation ( enacted in 2006 ) requiring lead solder to be phased out in electronics . The solder has been substituted with a mix of which 95 % is tin . The other development was the passing of the Dodd-Frank Act in the USA , which contains provisions to prevent four key minerals ( tin , tantalum , tungsten , and gold ) mined in the Great
Lakes region in Africa from being used to finance armed conflicts . Now smelters can buy tin only from certificated sources .
Near-future tin demand
According to BMI Research , a division of Business Monitor International , the global tin market is expected to move into a deficit from 2018 onwards , pushing prices higher . It is expected that inventories will be further depressed by heightened demand and slowing global production growth . The report further forecast that the tin market will shift from a surplus of 400 tons ( t ) in 2017 to a deficit of 3 500t in 2018 and by 2021 , the deficit is forecast to deepen to 12 600t . Based on these projections , the price of tin is expected to increase from an average of USD20 500 per ton in 2018 to USD22 500 per ton by 2021 .
One of the main reasons for the drop in tin output is China ’ s stricter environmental regulations . The refined tin market is also expected to decline as Indonesia ’ s production is expected to drop off . At the same time , the world demand
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