China Tin – the third largest producer in China – has announced a shut-down of its Ausmelt furnace for maintenance from 16 April for one month. The Ausmelt furnace of China Tin started up in March 2013, with a capacity of 20,000tpy. China Tin produced more than 12,000t refined tin in 2014.
Many smelters is facing huge risk and struggling between the raw material purchase and the fall of tin price. Most smelters in China do not hedge their raw material purchases, although the newly established SHFE futures contract may give them an opportunity to do so now. The sharp fall in tin price will probably cause more cut-backs in the next few months, especially by secondary smelters who are currently finding it very difficult to buy scrap.
