The Australian Government has updated the country’s Critical Minerals List and has introduced a new Strategic Materials List, which includes tin.
The minerals featured in the lists support Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, advanced manufacturing, defence technologies and capabilities, and broader strategic applications, according to a release from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.
Materials, including tin, are listed as Strategic owing to their importance for the global transition to net zero, Australia’s geological potential for extraction of each resource, and the demand from the country’s strategic international partners. Tin has been included alongside aluminium, copper, nickel, phosphorous, and zinc.
While there are nearly thirty tin exploration projects underway across Australia, the country is home to only one operating tin mine, Renison Bell, operated by Bluestone Mines Tasmania. Bluestone, a joint venture between Yunnan Tin Corporation and Metals X Ltd, is working towards its expansion plan with the Renison tailings project, Rentails.
Elementos and First Tin, two further companies with tin exploration projects in Australia, both recently presented at the ITA’s Investing in Tin Seminar – presentations and recordings are available here. Elsewhere in Australia, TinOne Resources owns several tin projects, including Aberfoyle and Great Pyramid, and critical minerals explorer Venture Minerals owns the Mount Lindsay tin-tungsten project, which has been classified by the Tasmanian Government as a ‘Critical Minerals Project’.
Our view: We are pleased to see the recognition of the importance of tin to net zero targets and new technologies. The continued trend of the classification of tin as a Strategic Material indicates national governments are beginning to recognise the unprecedented opportunities and challenges facing the tin industry.
Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV Pty and Yunnan Tin Corporation are members of the International Tin Association. Elementos Limited, First Tin plc, TinOne Resources Inc., and Venture Minerals Limited are members of the ITA’s Explorers & Developers Group.
