Bill the shrinking tin supply is a bit of a general trend but...

Bill the shrinking tin supply is a bit of a general trend but here are some specifics.

http://www.stellarresources.com.au/index.php/news-temp/71-tin-prices-set-to-snake-upwards-in-2013

According to Edward Meir, senior commodities analyst at INTL FCStone, the outlook for tin looks positive. However, Mr. Meir predicts tin deficits could narrow somewhat this year, but are likely to persist over the long term.
“There are many new tin projects in development scattered all over the world but most are small and take time to develop,” according to Mr. Meir.

The recent decision by Indonesia, one of the biggest global producers of tin, to close around 70 per cent of its smelter capacity in the Bangka-Belitung province, the country’s main tin-producing region, after global prices slipped is yet another factor affecting the supply of tin.
Peru’s San Rafael tin mine, which currently accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s output, has also seen a big drop in production with tonnages falling by 9.6 per cent in 2012 and forecast to drop again this year with the mine due to close in 2017.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/corporatenews/miners-struggle-to-fund-tin-projects-deeper-shortages-loom/561220

The shortfall could get deeper, because small-scale mining in locales such as China, Indonesia and Bolivia, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of global mine output, is expected to decline in coming years as easily accessible deposits run out.

At the same time, few new bigger mines are due to launch production.

"There are many deposits but few real projects with economics that seem viable," John Sykes, director of Greenfields Research, said.

Many new mines have low grades of ore, which hikes costs. At a grade of 0.5 percent, a typical open pit mine would need a price of $25,000 a ton to just break even, and an underground operation would need about $40,000, ITRI said.

As for metals X (MLX) VMS and KAS maybe there are a few holders here that can give you an answer or on those hotcopper boards?