tin looking good and the chinese into m

Tin looking a good bet
Bill Harcourt

9 July 2008




CHINESE company APAC Resources is creeping up the share register of Metals X, and is just about to re-open Tasmania's big Renison tin mine.

Last month APAC Resources increased its holding in Metals X from 15.95 per cent to 17.64 per cent.

Tin production at Renison is scheduled to start this month. Note the company's tin production costs are only $US8500 ($8900) per tonne, just about the world's cheapest.

Since 2005 the tin price has risen from $US6000 to as high as $US25,000 a tonne and, this year alone, is up from $US16,000. Recently tin has settled back to its present price of $US23,000 a tonne.

In the past few months, China has swung from being a tin exporter to importer. In the first four months of this year, China's tin production at 42,183 tonnes was down 11.6 pc.

As well, this year world demand is expected to outstrip production by 30,000 tonnes.

Indonesia and China are the world's top producers. Overall China is now an importer while in Indonesia production is expected to drop sharply due to the clamp down on environmentally-harmful illegal production.

It is reasonable to anticipate that Metals X will receive favourable publicity, when the first metal is produced from its historic mine.*