The world’s largest producer of refined tin, Yunnan Tin Company (YTC), has announced maintenance at its Gejiu smelter will commence on 30 September 2026 for up to 45 days.

Annual maintenance is usually performed in July and August, and is factored into the company’s operational plans and budget for the year, and will have no significant impact on the company’s annual production plan…

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Conventional solar cells cannot capture all the energy carried by sunlight. When light excites charge carriers within a solar material, they initially contain excess energy, but much of this is rapidly lost as heat as the carriers cool.

Hot-carrier solar cells are an emerging concept designed to capture these carriers before that excess energy is lost. In theory, this could allow solar cells to make use of more of the energy available from sunlight.

The challenge is that charge carriers normally cool within picoseconds, leaving very little time to capture their excess energy.

Tin-based perovskites are unusual because previous experiments have shown that their charge carriers can remain hot for much longer, in some cases into the nanosecond range. Researchers from the University of Groningen and TU Wien have now investigated why.

Why tin helps keep carriers hot

The study identifies two effects that work together to slow energy loss.

The first, known as band filling, occurs as excited charge carriers move into lower-energy states. As these states become occupied, there is less space available for other carriers to move into, making further energy loss more difficult.

This effect is particularly strong in tin-based perovskites because of their electronic properties, including their relatively low effective carrier mass.

The second effect involves vibrations within the crystal structure. Charge carriers normally transfer energy into these vibrations, which is eventually lost as heat. In perovskites, however, some of this vibrational energy can be transferred back to the carriers before it dissipates, further slowing the cooling process.

When the researchers combined these two effects in computer simulations, the difference was substantial.

For a model with properties similar to the tin perovskite caesium tin iodide (CsSnI₃), the fitted cooling time increased from around 4 picoseconds to approximately 470 picoseconds under the simulated conditions.

This was compared with previous experimental measurements of CsSnI₃, which reported a slow cooling component of around 636 picoseconds under different conditions. The model was not designed to reproduce the experiment exactly, but the similar timescales suggest that the two mechanisms can explain much of the unusually slow cooling observed in tin perovskites.

The simulations also showed that the carriers remain genuinely hot during this extended period, rather than simply appearing more energetic because lower-energy states have become occupied.

A potential route to higher-efficiency solar cells

The findings help explain why tin-based perovskites are attracting interest for future hot-carrier solar cells.

The researchers identify a low effective carrier mass, a soft crystal lattice and high material purity as important characteristics for materials designed to slow carrier cooling. On this basis, they specifically highlight tin-based perovskites as promising candidates for further investigation.

The work remains at a fundamental research stage. It does not demonstrate a working hot-carrier solar cell, and efficiently extracting these energetic carriers before they cool remains a key challenge.

However, by explaining why tin-based perovskites can retain this energy for unusually long periods, the study provides a clearer understanding of how tin could contribute to future solar technologies designed to capture more of the energy available from sunlight.

For more developments in emerging tin technologies, visit Tin Valley.

Link to paper

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China Minmetals Corporation has signed a framework agreement to acquire control of Chinese tin producer Huaxi Nonferrous (SSE: 600301) through an investment in its indirect parent company.

China Minmetals plans to contribute cash, or a combination of cash and non-cash assets, to Guangxi Critical Metals Industry Development Group (Guangxi Critical Metals Group) in exchange for a 51% interest…

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Tin is expected to be the first commodity traded on Indonesia’s new Mineral and Strategic Commodity Exchange (BMKS, or ICOMEX), with trading scheduled to begin on 4 January 2027.

Following a hearing with Indonesia’s parliament, Sarjito, OJK’s Chief Executive for Mineral and Strategic Commodity Exchange Supervision, told local media that tin was chosen to “encourage transparency in trading”…

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Slag tin content is an important indicator of smelting performance. If too much tin remains in the slag, valuable metal is being lost rather than recovered as crude tin.

The challenge is that slag tin is not normally measured continuously. In the industrial furnace used for this study, process data were recorded every minute, while slag tin content was measured in the laboratory only around once every three hours.

Turning furnace data into a virtual measurement

Researchers from Yunnan Tin Group, Yunnan University and Central South University developed a “soft sensor” that estimates slag tin content from continuously recorded furnace data.

The model uses measurements including temperature and concentrations of carbon monoxide, oxygen and sulphur dioxide. These variables provide information on furnace conditions and the reducing atmosphere responsible for converting tin oxide into metallic tin.

Unlike a purely data-driven model, the system also incorporates basic metallurgical knowledge. Stronger reducing conditions would generally be expected to lower the amount of tin left in slag, and the model is trained to favour predictions that follow this relationship.

Tested on industrial operating data

The model was tested using 30 days of data from an operating top-blown tin smelting furnace, including 43,200 one-minute process measurements and 240 laboratory slag assays.

On the held-out test period, the model achieved an R² value of 0.889 and the lowest prediction error among the methods assessed. It also produced uncertainty estimates, allowing the system to indicate when a prediction may be less reliable.

More frequent estimates of slag tin content could help operators identify periods of poorer recovery earlier, rather than waiting several hours for the next laboratory result.

Towards smarter process monitoring

The researchers are careful to note that the study is based on only one month of operation from a single furnace. Further validation would be needed across longer campaigns, different feed conditions and other furnaces before the approach could be considered ready for wider industrial use.

Even so, the work provides an interesting example of how AI could use existing furnace measurements to support faster process decisions and improve visibility of tin recovery during smelting.

Link to paper

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Fraunhofer’s high throughput, industrial capacity XRT sorting system at the Furth base.

Sensor-based ore sorting can separate mineral-bearing rock from lower-value or barren material before it enters later stages of processing. For tin operations, this could provide a route to reject part of the barren material after initial crushing, reducing the volume requiring further treatment.

Analysing the ore

The GRS–Fraunhofer Rock Scanning Technology (RST) passes crushed ore along a conveyor belt between an X-ray source and detector. Individual rock particles, or clasts, can then be analysed and directed into different material streams according to their X-ray response.

The system uses dual-energy X-ray transmission, taking measurements at two different X-ray energy ranges. Combining these measurements provides information related to material density and effective atomic number, which can help distinguish target mineralisation from surrounding host rock.

This is particularly relevant to cassiterite. Tin has a relatively high atomic number of 50 and cassiterite is a dense mineral, producing a strong X-ray attenuation response compared with many common host-rock minerals.

The technique does not directly determine a mineral’s chemical composition. Instead, where the expected mineralogy of an ore is already understood, differences in X-ray response can be used to help classify mineralised and barren particles.

Because X-rays pass through the rock, the system can also obtain information from mineralisation contained within a clast rather than only from material exposed at its surface. The sorting process itself is dry and does not require added water.

Fraunhofer is also developing image-processing and artificial-intelligence techniques that could support particle recognition and classification within sensor-based sorting systems.

Cassiterite successfully detected

GRS and Fraunhofer IIS have conducted laboratory testing with cassiterite, with the mineral producing a clear response that could be distinguished from the other materials examined.

The wider research programme has also investigated minerals that can occur alongside cassiterite in complex deposits, including tantalite, columbite and wolframite/ferberite.

Further testing using representative natural ores will be needed to establish performance across different host rocks, mineral associations and ore characteristics.

Potential for tin pre-concentration

For tin, one of the main potential applications of the RST system is pre-concentration.

Run-of-mine ore contains both mineralised and barren material. If lower-value rock can be identified and removed after initial crushing, a smaller and more concentrated stream can be sent to subsequent beneficiation stages.

Reducing the volume of material requiring further crushing, grinding and concentration could improve resource and energy efficiency. The potential benefit would be highly deposit-specific, depending on factors including cassiterite distribution, mineral grain size, host-rock mineralogy and the degree to which mineralised and barren clasts can be separated at the sorting stage.

Moving towards representative ore trials

Although the cassiterite work remains laboratory-based, Fraunhofer IIS already operates industrial-scale sorting equipment.

The demonstrator uses a conveyor approximately 1.2 metres wide, operates at belt speeds of up to 3 metres per second and can analyse and physically separate material into different streams.

GRS and Fraunhofer are now looking towards further trials using representative ores.

For tin, these trials could provide important quantitative measures including tin recovery, mass rejection and feed-grade improvement. This would help establish where the technology could potentially fit within tin beneficiation flowsheets.

For more information, contact our ITA Technology Team.

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The International Tin Association (ITA) is pleased to publish the results from a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) quantifying the environmental impacts associated with the production of refined tin.

The updated study represents the second industry-wide LCA undertaken by ITA and was completed with 100% participation from ITA member companies, collectively representing approximately 51% of global refined tin production. Using 2024 as the reference year, the study updates the industry’s previous 2018/2019 baseline and provides the most comprehensive and globally representative refined tin environmental profile published by ITA to date.

The LCA was undertaken by renowned consultancy Sphera Solutions Inc in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, the study calculated the average global industry impacts associated with the production of 1 tonne of refined tin metal (99.95%), covering mining, recycled material, mineral processing or beneficiation, smelting and refining. The environmental impact categories considered as part of the updated assessment included Global Warming Potential (GWP), Primary Energy Demand (PED), blue water consumption (BWC), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Acidification Potential (AP) and Photochemical Ozone Formation (POF).

The study provides insight into the processes and inputs contributing most to potential environmental impacts across the industry, helping ITA members and stakeholders better understand environmental performance and identify key areas of impact. The updated baseline also better reflects current technologies, operational practices and supply chain conditions.

The results provide industry-average environmental data that can support downstream tin users and other stakeholders in undertaking their own LCA calculations and assessing the environmental impacts associated with the use of refined tin. The findings will also help inform future priorities, strategy and decision-making as part of the broader Tin Industry Low-Carbon Transition Roadmap, supporting the development of more actionable and coordinated long-term approaches to the tin industry’s transition towards a lower-carbon future.

To download the latest report- https://mailchi.mp/7d5f36fc3780/ita-lca-summary-report-2026

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The Indonesian government has announced that state-owned tin producer PT Timah (IDX: TINS) will be allowed to purchase tin from local miners in Bangka Belitung.

It is hoped that the arrangement will reduce illegal ore and concentrate exports as the country seeks to modify the regulatory framework of the tin industry…

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British tin explorer First Tin (LON: 1SN) has published an updated DFS for its Taronga project in New South Wales, confirming low-cost open pit mining and a simple processing flowsheet.

The mine would see average production of 3,100 tonnes tin-in-concentrate per year over the 10 year mine life, with potential to…

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Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC) reported higher revenue and profit year-on-year in Q2 2026, supported by increased refined tin sales, stronger tin prices and improved performance from its mining business.

Revenue reached RM637.3 million (approximately US$151 million), up 68.2% from RM379 million (approximately US$93 million) in Q2 2025. MSC attributed the increase primarily to a 44.7% rise in refined tin sales volumes and a 60.3% higher average tin price compared with…

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