YTC comes out top in difficult year for tin producers
2020 was a difficult year for tin producers. In many countries, the spread of the coronavirus saw lockdown measures that closed smelters and halted production. In total, ITA estimates that 327,200 tonnes of refined tin were produced in 2020. This was a nearly 8% drop...
Renison finishes low, but outlook positive
Production at the Renison mine in Tasmania, Australia, finished 2020 on a low note as tin-in-concentrate production fell some 14% quarter-on-quarter. However, half-owner Metals X is forecasting that production will improve in 2021. Without any impact of coronavirus at...
Simpler production concept for improving tin-based perovskite solar cells
New research by scientists at Shaanxi Normal University, China has demonstrated a new, simpler technique for manufacturing tin-containing perovskite solar cells (PSCs). There have been recent, sharp improvements in the proportion of solar energy that is converted by...
Tin production isolated from Myanmar coup
Myanmar has been thrust into the spotlight after a coup saw the country's military take control from the government. The country is the world's third largest producer of tin concentrates, and a major source for China's smelters. One of the biggest questions in the tin...
Tin battles climate change: latest carbon capture R&D
Teams of scientists around the world are pushing forward research on new generations of tin catalysts to battle climate change. Several recently published scientific papers describe new tin prototypes and insights that advance the efficiency and selectivity of...
China begins search for other sources as Myanmar supply drops again
In August, Myanmar experienced extremely heavy rains, leading to flooding. The high waters constrained mine production in the country, a major source of tin concentrates for smelters in China. The flood waters have still not been cleared, leading to lower shipments...
Nobel Prize winner explains potential for tin use in lithium-ion batteries
Stanley Whittingham, jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2019 as one of the founding fathers of lithium-ion batteries, has recently reviewed potential for tin in lithium-ion batteries and reported on his own team's tin R&D. In his paper published in...
Rusolovo leading Russian tin revival
Towards the end of the last century, Russia was a significant producer of tin concentrates, supplying both domestic and foreign smelters. However, output fell below 400 tonnes in 2009 and struggled to improve for some time. However, the Russian tin mining industry now...
Scientists discover why tin harvests heat so well
Thermoelectric materials are key to reducing the amount of energy that is lost as heat during electricity generation. In the US, it is estimated that 60% of the energy that goes into the economy is lost to the environment as waste heat. Recapturing just a small...