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...Fires lit at Yunnan Tin’s new smelter
Yunnan Tin, one of the world’s most significant refined tin producers – and China’s largest – began commissioning its new smelter last Thursday. In July 2013, the company announced that it would move its main smelting facility from the centre...Returning smelters reduce imports; Myanmar flooding to pressure China supply
Despite significant falls in tin consumption earlier in the year, demand for the metal in China has recovered well. In fact, with smelters including Yunnan Tin closed for maintenance over the June-July period, the country imported large amounts of refined tin....Rising demand increases China’s appetite for overseas tin
Despite a shrinking arbitrage, official Customs data shows that China imported a large amount of refined tin in July – 2,750 tonnes – a six-fold increase from 2019. Imports year-to-date reached 12,113 tonnes, eleven times higher than the same period last year. As a...Baiyinchagan restart scheduled
The Baiyinchagan mine is set to come back online after the local government approved its mining license on 27 July. The mine, located in Inner Mongolia, China, was closed in early 2019 after a fatal accident. At the time, it was estimated that the mine would close for...Yunnan stockpiling unlikely to affect tin market
Last week, the Yunnan government announced that it would offer incentives for producers in the province to stockpile up to 40,000 tonnes of tin. The stockpiling efforts were initially announced back in April, although only the total for all base metals was announced –...Chinese refined tin imports hit eight-year high
China has continued its recent trend of significant imports of refined tin: the latest official data shows a nearly 2000% increase from May 2019. According to the latest China Customs data, China imported 3,674 tonnes of refined tin in May 2020. This is a 1762%...Chinese refined tin imports remain high
With the SHFE-LME arbitrage still wide, China continues to import record amounts of refined tin. The latest China Customs data indicates that the country imported 1,183 tonnes of refined tin in April. While this is level with March’s total, this is up some 773%...COVID-19: China tin industry in recovery mode
The tin industry in China is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak, with imports of tin concentrate returning to normal levels. Refined metal imports remain elevated as demand grows. According to the latest customs data, China imported 4,000 tonnes of...
