The China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has recently revealed a draft China Tin Industry Code of Conduct which currently has public opinion solicitation status.
The new Code of Conduct has 7 aspects including enterprise layout; quality, process and equipment; energy consumption; comprehensive utilisation of resources; environmental protection; production safety and regulation management. This code will replace the 2006 version and requirements will be made stricter.
Companies will be required to hold a mining license, safety production license and adhere to all related policies. Mining activity will need to follow the resources utilisation plan and environmental mine construction standards. Tin mine capacity should be no less than 60,000 tonnes annually and the life of mine should be no less than 10 years. Single tin recycling projects will be required to produce no less than 4,000 tpy of tin content; the 2006 code only required 3,000 tpy.
Changes to the quality, process and equipment aspect of the code include the phasing out of reverberatory furnaces by 2020, stricter rules regarding fuming furnaces, and sulfur dioxide control requirements. What’s more, energy consumption has been restricted and higher recovery rates are required to maximize the utilisation of resources. More detail on environmental protection will be requested and environmental standards developed in recent years will also be introduced. The MIIT will now conduct publicity management for all the tin mines, smelters, processors and recycling companies within China
ITRI View The draft Code of Conduct has been released to the tin industry for comment. The stricter requirements are likely to drive the lower capacity companies out of the industry to the benefit of larger enterprises with more advanced technology and levels of management.
