The International Tin Association (ITA) Lead Sustainability Specialist Sonia Marsh and Sustainability Associate Liam Rafferty-John travelled to Brazil in February to visit ITA member and leading tin producer White Solder Metalurgia e Mineracão LTDA (White Solder) and gain a deeper understanding of the local tin mining context.  

As the world’s sixth largest producer of refined tin, Brazil is of key importance to the global tin industry. The visit provided insights into key social and environmental considerations and how the national tax system and disclosures contribute to transparency in the mineral sector.     

The visit included a tour of White Solder’s smelter and solder manufacturing facilities and local mining operations. A key focus was the practical application of the Tin Code for ESG disclosures and its role in promoting continuous improvement in sustainability, including engagement with small-scale suppliers. 

A highlight was the visit to the recently inaugurated Community Centre TST, a state-of-the-art facility fully funded by White Solder, providing vital daycare, educational, and skills development support to local families. This initiative strongly aligns with the community engagement and development principles encouraged by the Tin Code. 

ITA extends its sincere thanks to the entire team at White Solder and the Tor Participações Holding Group for hosting the visit. Such engagement is crucial as ITA continues to support its members and promote continuous improvement in responsible tin production worldwide. 

You can find White Solder’s latest Tin Code Report here. 

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2024 saw global refined tin production of 371,200 t, representing a decline of 2.7% from 2023. Approximately 63% of this tin originated from just ten leading smelters, whose collective output increased by 14,300 t (7% year-on-year).

The top three producers remain unchanged, with Yunnan Tin maintaining its position as the world’s largest producer of refined tin at 85,000 t, and Minsur keeping second place although bolstered by strong growth of 14.3% to 36,300 t. Yunnan Chengfeng remained in third place with approximately flat production on the previous year.

After switching places in 2023, PT Timah and Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC) have switched again in 2024 as PT Timah’s production recovered to 2022 levels and MSC saw the largest year-on-year decline in the cohort.

PT Timah’s recovery came amid a difficult year for the Indonesian tin industry, with national refined tin production falling 30.7%, as the country’s investigation into alleged historical irregularities in the tin trade exacerbated licensing and export delays.

After facing significant challenges in 2023, EM Vinto production increased 26.3% to a record 12,700 t refined tin.

Chinese producer Guangxi Huaxi (formerly Guangxi China Tin) saw the strongest growth within the cohort of 34.1%, while Jiangxi New Nanshan saw modest growth, and both companies retained their positions from 2023.

Total production in mainland China saw remarkable growth of 4.6% despite the ongoing mining suspension in Wa State, Myanmar—traditionally a major concentrate source for Chinese smelters—bringing the national total to 194,000 t in 2024. This increase is attributed to unprecedented growth in secondary refined tin production of 14.9% on the previous year, and significant drawdown of raw material stockpiles.

Global secondary supply grew by 6.8% in 2024 to a record high, following growth of 2.9% the previous year. Secondary supply ex-China declined by 3.4%. Production at tin recycler Aurubis Beerse fell 16.9%, seeing the company switch places with Thaisarco.

Our view: Despite coinciding with weaker-than-expected growth in tin demand, protracted supply disruptions in Myanmar and Indonesia saw the tin market fall into a narrow deficit of 2,200 tonnes in 2024.

While 2024 saw the industry focus on a challenging supply story, 2025 will likely see supply recover as demand continues to move into a recovery cycle, putting the market on course for a small surplus in 2025.

Yunnan Tin, Minsur, PT Timah, Malaysia Smelting Corporation, Thaisarco, and Aurubis Beerse are members of the International Tin Association. Yunnan Chengfeng, Guangxi Huaxi, and Jiangxi New Nanshan are associate companies reporting data to ITA China.

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Peru’s Minsur S.A. is to sell its Brazilian subsidiary Mineração Taboca, which operates the Pitinga mine and the Pirapora smelter, to China Nonferrous Trade Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co. (CNMC).

The agreement signed on 26 November will see Minsur’s entire indirect holding in Taboca transferred to China Nonferrous Trade Co. Ltd., subject to certain requirements and conditions customary in this type of transaction.

Founded in 1969, Mineração Taboca is the largest tin producer in Brazil, having contributed over a third of the country’s refined tin production in 2023 at 5,385 t, and is Brazil’s only fully integrated tin producer.

Minsur acquired Taboca from Paranapanema Group in 2008 following financial problems at Paranapanema. The combined production from Minsur’s Peruvian assets and Taboca intermittently made the company the second largest producer of refined tin alongside PT Timah.

The Pitinga mine in the Amazon is the world’s largest tin resource by tin content at 558,000 t contained Sn from 522.1 Mt at 0.107% Sn, and also holds significant resources of niobium and tantalum. At the end of 2023, Minsur reported tin reserves at Pitinga as 279,000 t contained Sn, expected to maintain production for at least thirty years.

Since Minsur’s takeover of Taboca, recovery at Pitinga has steadily increased and the mine’s output is likely to increase in future. The Pirapora smelter near Sao Paolo, which produces the LME brand MAMORE at a purity of 99.97% Sn, has a capacity of 16,000 tpa.

Bloomberg reports Minsur is selling the company for US$340 million.

In a statement to its website, Mineração Taboca said that “This new moment is strategic and constitutes a growth opportunity for [the company], as it will allow it to have access to new technologies to become more competitive and expand its vision and production capacity.”

“Amid these changes, Mineração Taboca reaffirms that its purpose and values remain the same, as well as its commitment to transparency, ethics and excellence in serving its stakeholders.”

Our view: The sale of Mineração Taboca to CNMC marks a significant step in the increasing dominance of Chinese companies in the tin market. Without its Brazil assets, Minsur remains the world’s second largest producer of refined tin and the changes may enable the company to increase its focus on its major exploration project at Nazareth, Peru—one of the largest new mine supply projects by capacity.

Minsur S.A. is a member of the International Tin Association.

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The top two producers remain unchanged, with Yunnan Tin maintaining its position as the world’s largest producer of refined tin, and Minsur kept second place. A challenging year at PT Timah resulted in a 23% decline in production, whilst growth at Malaysia Smelting Corporation saw the companies switch positions.

2023 saw moderate production growth from Chinese producers Yunnan Chengfeng and Guangxi China Tin, who held onto third and sixth positions respectively. This growth was offset by declines at similarly-sized producers Jiangxi New Nanshan and EM Vinto, which traded places. European secondary producer Aurubis Beerse saw growth, climbing one spot to ninth, while a decline at the Thailand Smelting & Refining Company (Thaisarco) pushed the company to tenth place, completing the Top 10.

Total production in mainland China declined 1.3% to 177,000 t in 2023. A partial resumption of mineral processing and sales of government stockpiles in the autonomous Wa State of Myanmar, which suspended mining operations from 1^st August 2023, maintained some level of shipments to China. Myanmar tin concentrate shipments to China decreased 15% year-on-year, while shipments from other countries increased by 5% over the same period.

Global secondary supply increased by 7.5% in 2023, recovering from a 6.6% decline the previous year. Growth in secondary refined tin production was split evenly between Europe and China.

Our view: Alongside a difficult macroeconomic climate impacting demand, a decline in global tin production yielded a market surplus of 9,700 t. An expected recovery in demand and ongoing supply disruptions especially in Wa State and Indonesia may bring supply tightness in 2024. We anticipate a reversal of the significant stocking seen in 2023.

Yunnan Tin, Minsur, Malaysia Smelting Corporation, PT Timah, Aurubis Beerse, and Thailand Smelting & Refining Company are members of the International Tin Association. Yunnan Chengfeng, Guangxi China Tin, and Jiangxi New Nanshan are Associate Companies reporting data to International Tin China.

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Auxico Resources has signed an offtake agreement for the planned tin production from its Massangana tailings reprocessing project in Brazil.

Massangana is a historical tin mine in the Ariquemes region of Brazil. The site has been operated by the CEMAL (Cooperativa Estanifera de Mineradores da Amazonia Legal) cooperative for around 50 years. During that time, the site has produced an estimated 250,000 tonnes of tin and held roughly 30 Mt at 0.2% Sn in 2018. However, the mine has produced a significant volume of tailings, which Auxico hopes to reprocess. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CEMAL in June 2022.

The Massangana tailings have been the subject of a detailed study by the German Mineral Resources Agency (BGR). The study concluded that the tailings – which average 0.6% Sn – could be upgraded to a ~55% Sn concentrate product. Alongside this, Auxico plans to recover rare earth elements and columbite.

Auxico believes it can produce 6,000 tonnes of cassiterite annually from the tailings at Massangana and has signed an offtake deal with Cuex Metal AG for the totality of the tin (3,600 tonnes tin-in-concentrate). The deal is set to last for a period of five years. Cuex is a subsidiary of Shanghai Qunxian Industrial Group, a bulk commodity trading company from China.

Our view: Massangana has the potential to be a notable player in the tin concentrate market in the near future. The company aims to bring the project online in the second quarter of 2023. Given the existing infrastructure in the mining-heavy Ariquemes area, lead times and capital expenditure is likely to be low, making this potentially achievable. Tailings reprocessing plants are also typically low-cost operations, which when combined with the variety of by-products produced mean that Auxico’s project will likely be at the low end of the tin cost curve.

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Meridian Mining has announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Orosur Mining over its Ariquemes tin project.

Meridian Mining owns concessions in the Ariquemes area, Brazil’s second largest tin-producing area. The Pitinga tin field, owned and operated by Taboca, a subsidiary of Minsur, is Brazil’s largest. Ariquemes has been an active tin mining region for decades, with the historic Bom Futuro and Massangana mines among the largest.

Meridian Mining has had a stake in the region for some time. The company formed a joint venture with Coopersanta, a local cooperative, in 2016 to developed a project to reprocess the tailings at Bom Futuro. A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the mine was produced in 2017. The planned operations would have produced some 2,000 tonnes of contained tin per year. However, there has been no development since the PEA was published.

However, the current Ariquemes project covers a much wider area.

A map of Meridian’s concessions in Ariquemes.

Meridian’s concessions were evaluated under the Brazilian Geological Survey’s (CPRM) program to map “Areas of Relevant Mineral Interest”. This project combined stream sampling, geological mapping, magnetic surveying, amongst other techniques. According to Meridian, all the signs point to significant tin mineralisation in the area.

Orosur Mining is a Canadian explorer, which is dual listed on the TSX and AIM exchanges. The company owns the Anza gold project in Colombia, which it runs in partnership with Newmont and Agnico Eagle. Gold was found alongside the tin mineralisation in CPRM’s stream sediment sampling program.

Under the terms of the LOI, Orosur will be able to acquire a majority share in the Ariquemes project by spending US$ 1 million on exploration work over the next two years. It will also have the right to acquire an additional 24% interest in the project if it incurs an additional US$ 2 million in exploration expenditure over the two years after. Once a binding agreement is made, Orosur with the become the main operator of the Ariquemes project.

Our view: Currently, there is significant artisanal and small-scale mining in the region. Historical mines, such as Sao Lourenco and Bom Futuro, continue to be worked by cooperatives, such as Coopersanta. There are also several smelters in the area that could purchase ore from any future mine.

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In total, ITA estimates that 327,200 tonnes of refined tin were produced in 2020. This was a nearly 8% drop in production compared to 2019 levels, which had already fallen some 5% from 2018.

ITA also surveys global tin smelters to compile the annual list of the world’s largest producers. In 2020, these top 10 companies produced 69% of the world’s tin, down from 76% in 2019.

The drop in output from the group can be primarily attributed to the significant decline in production from PT Timah. The company more than doubled production in 2019 after export regulations forced many of the country’s private smelters to cease operations. According to PT Timah’s annual report, some of these smelters were rented to the company, increasing their capacity significantly. However, many private smelters have resumed production, likely ending this deal with PT Timah.

In China, production began the year slowly as the coronavirus impacted raw materials supply. However, the larger companies in the top 10 were able to ride out the disruptions. As a result of the changes in Indonesia, Yunnan Tin retook the top spot on the list.

South America was significantly impacted by the coronavirus, with smelters in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia closed for an average of two months in the early part of the year. The lengthy closure of EM Vinto (Bolivia) saw it move out of the top 10 for the for the first time. A full year of production from the new B2 tailings reprocessing plant enabled Minsur to keep production steady year-on-year despite the disruptions.

Our view: It is unlikely that we will see another year quite like 2020. Enforced smelter closures are not common normally, but synchronous stoppages across the world are unheard of.

Most smelters now have extensive safety measures in place to prevent COVID entering the plants, and so we feel it is unlikely that further waves of the virus could prevent production for significant periods. With that in mind, we forecast a rebound in refined tin production in 2021 back to 2019 levels.

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The latest quarterly report from Minsur indicates that the company quickly recovered from the impact of the coronavirus, which closed its operations in the second quarter.

The report for the third quarter of 2020 indicates that tin production at San Rafael, the company’s Peruvian mine, was in line with Q3 2019. Overall tin-in-concentrate production was boosted by an additional 1,181 tonnes from the B2 tailings project. B2 came online in Q4 2019.

However, refined tin production at Pisco, Minsur’s smelter in Peru, did not see an increase over last year. Despite additional feed from B2, a high volume of concentrate stocks were processed in 2019, meaning that no annual increase was seen.

Production at both the mine and smelter year-to-date remains lower than in 2019 due to the closures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Minsur felt the full impact of COVID-19 during the second quarter, with tin production down over 35%. Although there has been some recovery in Q3, San Rafael’s output remains some 21% lower YTD. Refined tin production has seen a better recover, and is now down just 6% YTD. The additional feed provided by B2 over the course of the year has played a pivotal role in this recovery.

Costs per treated tonne at Minsur’s Peruvian operations during 2020 have been much higher than in the previous year. The company attributes this to the lower volume of ore treated at the ore sorting plant, combined with additional costs due to COVID-19 safety measures. However, per tonne of tin, year-to-date costs are some 6% lower.

At the company’s subsidiary in Brazil, Taboca, a lower head grade at the Pitinga mine resulted in overall lower tin production, despite an increase in treated volumes. Taboca’s smelter at Pirapora produced 1,871 tonnes of refined tin during the quarter, some 17% higher than in 2019. The smelter received higher volumes of higher grade concentrate during the quarter.

Costs at Pitinga have continued to fall, with costs per treated tonne some 26% in Q3 2020 than in 2019. The devaluation of the Brazilian real, combined with higher treated volumes, helped to reduce costs. When by-product created are included, the cash cost at Pitinga was US$ 6,152/tonne in the third quarter, a 44% decreased compared to Q3 2019.

Our view: Minsur was able to capitalise on the production stability brought by the introduction of new health and safety measures during the third quarter. Production is now back in line with its usual output levels – or in the case of Taboca, exceeding normal volumes. This has not come without a price, however, with Q3 costs up noticeably at both the Peruvian and Brazilian operations. Despite this, previous work done to lower costs is now paying off, with year-to-date costs still below the 2019 benchmark. The company will be hoping that the upwards trend in the tin price continues to offset these costs in the fourth quarter.

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“We are delighted to have this opportunity to work together with tin industry leaders in demonstrating the importance and sustainability of tin as a vital resource” said the company’s Commercial Director Paulo Amparo. “White Solder appreciates the benefits of a collective approach to implementing responsible practices and is looking forward to being part of these initiatives”

White Solder is a South American refined tin and solder producer based in Brazil, having expanded in 2020 to an installed capacity of 7,200 tonnes of tin per year. Originating in 2001, its operations are fully integrated, processing cassiterite tin ore to tin ingots and then into a range of alloy products, mainly solders. It has plants in Ariquemes, Ribeirão Preto and the Manaus free trade zone. LME branded tin as well as certified tin alloy and solder products are supplied to an international market.

ITA represents more than 80% of global tin production in its full and associate memberships and is an effective platform for tin industry cooperation. It works to demonstrate the importance of tin in everyday life, for example as solder joining all electronics, whilst at the same time recognising concerns about sustainability and responsible production. Through ITA, all levels of the tin supply chain can engage to provide an exceptional forum for dialogue and action.

White Solder will support ITA’s global industry Code of Conduct standard and is committed to reporting to the standard within its first year of membership. The Code of Conduct addresses consumer expectations for responsible supply chains, including environmental, safety, human rights and labour issues.

ITA’s expertise in understanding tin market dynamics, engaging with tin users and tracking future tin technologies also aligns directly with White Solder’s upstream and downstream business interests and will ensure the company stays at the forefront of an industry with significant opportunities ahead.

More information on White Solder is available on their website: www.whitesolder.com.br/

More information on tin use is available on the ITA website: www.internationaltin.org

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Minsur felt the full impact of COVID-19 during the second quarter, its recent earnings report revealed, with tin production falling over 35%. Combined with lower gold and ferro-alloy output, this saw the company’s revenue fall by some 45%.

During the quarter, the Peruvian government forced mines and smelters in the country to close in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, the company also stopped operations at its Brazilian subsidiary Taboca as a preventative measure. Although Minsur gradually restarted in May, new health and safety protocols and a ramp-up period saw production at Minsur’s tin operations reach full capacity by June.

In Peru, tin production in the second quarter halved compared to Q2 2019. Fewer working days for staff resulted in less ore treated (-71%), which combined with a lower head grade, saw tin contained output fall. Refined tin output from the Pisco smelter, however, declined by around 30% as some stockpiled concentrate was processed to make up for the lower mine output. For the first half of the year as a whole, tin concentrate production was 31% lower than H1 2019, with refined tin output down 10%.

Across the border in Brazil, operations were halted slightly later than in Peru. However, this still resulted in tin concentrate production falling by 37% year-on-year (YoY). Refined production at Pirapora fell by 62% YoY. Although the Pirapora smelter came back online in late April, it was forced to stop again in late May for maintenance that could not be carried out while it was stopped due to the coronavirus. This caused output numbers to look worse than last year, as maintenance was carried out during the first quarter. Over the entire first half of the year, which more accurately reflects the impact of the coronavirus, Taboca’s refined tin production fell by 38% YoY.

Our view: Having halted its Peruvian operations on 19 March, it is unsurprising that Minsur’s production numbers fell so dramatically in the second quarter. However, with new measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Minsur and Taboca are now operating at usual volumes. Plans to attempt to close the gap to the company’s annual tin production guidance are being developed, although demand for tin remains weak. We expect both companies to show improved production figures in the third and fourth quarters.

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