2023 has already given the tin industry plenty to talk about, as LME price first topped $25,000 and then surged towards today's $29,000 on the news below that Minsur suspended operations. We are still awaiting word from Indonesia on their proposed export ban. With demand still held back and a lack of clarity on China's COVID wave the stage looks set for a bumpy Q1.
Jeremy Pearce - Market Intelligence and Communications
San Rafael operations halted after Peruvian protests
20 January: Minsur has temporarily suspended operations after continued protests around their San Rafael mine rock the region.
The deadly protests come as supporters of the recently ousted president, Pedro Castillo, and security forces clashed in the south-eastern regions of Peru. The San Rafael mine is located in the region of Puno that has seen some of the worst violence. A mid-December state of emergency in the area was extended for a month on January 15th.
Minsur, the world’s third largest tin producer, decided to temporarily suspend mining operations at its San Rafael tin mine on Thursday 12th January. Although the mine was not directly impacted by protests, the decision was made in solidarity with the victims.
Since then, the company stated that they stopped operations of the whole unit, including the concentrates plant. Concerns for the safety of staff were highlighted, with transportation of minerals and resources currently not feasible due to road blockages.
The company hopes their output will be affected as little as possible, although a date to restart operations is still unclear.
Our View: This is an ongoing, dynamic situation which we are monitoring closely. Protests were recently reported to be moving towards the capital Lima.
Tin target tracked down at South Crofty
13 January: Cornish Metals has discovered high-grade tin mineralisation at a new target in the historic South Crofty project, Cornwall, UK.
The new target, labelled the Wide Formation, is a structure that was interpreted to exist from exploration drilling in the 1960’s. However, subsequent work to confirm the structure wasn’t followed up, until now.
Drill results targeting the structure, as part of a wider drilling programme, have discovered high-grade tin mineralisation; drill hole CB21_002 recorded 2.77m at 0.99% Sn, including 0.94m at 2.86% Sn. Richard Williams, CEO of Cornish Metals stated that such a discovery in the middle of a historic mining district is a “tremendous outcome, and again demonstrates the exploration potential of the region”.
The company has been conducting metallurgical drilling at South Crofty after receiving £45 million in investment last year. The results report on eight drill holes along the southern boundary of South Crofty, targeting the aforementioned Wide Formation, and the Great Flat Lode.
Both structures lie within an area comprised of metasediments which overlie an intrusive granite body. The Wide Formation is hosted within the granite, and has not been mined historically. This is in contrast to The Great Flat Lode which was once the center of Cornwall’s historic tin production. This lies along the boundary of the two rock types, above the Wide Formation.
Drill results targeting the Lode have confirmed up-dip, near-surface extensions of the structure. The company highlighted five intercepts ranging in widths from 2.00m to 5.00m at a grade from 0.97% to 3.93%. These results make the Lode a “very compelling target to explore” according to Richard, who hopes the shallow nature of tin mineralisation represents an opportunity to define further Mineral Resources at South Crofty.
Our view: Metallurgical drilling has been a focus for the company whilst plans to dewater South Crofty continue. Identifying new targets, along with further shallow mineralisation may contribute to improving the project’s Mineral Resource. This will be welcomed by the company, with a Feasibility Study due for completion at the end of 2024.
With Cornish Metals recently leasing mineral rights containing the mentioned geological structures, they will look forward to continue exploring the extent of the formation in future drill programmes.
Cornish Metals is a member of ITA’s Explorers and Developers Group.
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