tin in the news

this a free tin email based newsletter from itri I've been getting for a while.
http://www.itri.co.uk/bfora/systems/xmlviewer/default.asp?arg=DS_ITRI_NEWSART_21/_list.xsl/11

Tin in the News
Welcome to our latest weekly tin news round-up, which starts with ITRI's own overview of the current supply/demand position.

As always, feedback and your news will be gratefully received.

Peter Kettle
[email protected]
29 Apr 2009 ITRI view on tin supply/demand position

At its six-monthly Board meeting last week, ITRI members considered the short-term outlook for world tin supply and demand. The market is expected to be in surplus by 5,000 - 10,000 tonnes in 2009 as a result of the sharp decline in world consumption caused by the global economic crisis from the fourth quarter of 2008. However the size of the surplus has been limited by rapid supply cut-backs, while downward pressure on prices has been eased by provincial government stock financing initiatives in China. Meanwhile the credit crunch and much lower prices (compared to last year's peak of over $25,000/tonne) is causing a major reduction in investment in new mine capacity.

ITRI estimates that world tin usage in 2009 will fall to around 300,000 tonnes, well below the record levels of some 360,000 tpy reached in 2006 and 2007. However after six months of very poor demand, we expect some recovery over the rest of this year. Tin is less exposed to the troubled automotive and construction industries than most other metals, although it has been hit by lower demand and de-stocking in the important consumer electronics sector. Tinplate demand is stable or growing.

Tin production also fell sharply from the fourth quarter of 2008, with particularly large cut-backs (over 40% year-on-year) seen in China in the early months of this year. Although small-scale and artisanal mines will continue to operate at current prices, investment in sustainable mining projects worldwide will be greatly curtailed.

ITRI's analysis of over 20 potential hard-rock mining projects - with a combined resource of over one million tonnes of contained tin - shows an average grade of less than 0.4% tin. As a result very few are currently economically viable. At the same time exploration activity to identify new resources is also likely to be restricted. Thus an eventual post-recession recovery in tin consumption could encounter significant supply constraints.
29 Apr 2009 Further Indonesian smelter gets export licence

Indonesia's trade ministry has granted a further licence to export refined tin, a ministry official told Reuters on Monday, bringing the total number of companies with licences to 25. The export permit was approved for PT Babel Inti Perkasa on April 24, said the official. This was the second tin export permit approved by the government so far this year, the previous one going to PT Refined Bangka Tin two weeks ago.

Trade sources have suggested that further applications are awaiting approval, but many of the existing licence holders are either not currently producing or are operating at low levels of capacity utilisation. The export licencing scheme was introduced in February 2007. In the twelve months to March 2009 the ministry's surveyors checked 88,169 tonnes of tin prior to export.
27 Apr 2009 Tinplate price increases hit headlines

Recent annual contract tinplate price rises are raising concerns not only with can makers but also fillers and even supermarket chains. On Friday the Wall Street Journal described customer reactions in the USA and Europe, while the South African press has reported widespread complaints about particularly large price rises implemented there this month.

The WSJ reports that the average price of tinplate is expected to rise 25% to 35% this year in Europe, and 15% to 20% in North America, quoting evidence from "can manufacturers, packaged food companies and others". Its article suggests that cans account for between 8% and 20% of total costs of canned soups and vegetables and quotes comments from some of the biggest brands.

H.J. Heinz Co. says global tinplate costs rose 40% in the last year. The Pittsburgh-based company is considering switching to plastic packaging or pouches for some products. "As energy and tin plate prices continue to rise, reducing our can packaging costs has become more important than ever," said Michael Mullen, a Heinz spokesman. Meanwhile Anthony Sanzio, a spokesman for Campbell, said, "The price of tinplate is obviously important to us. We have been monitoring the situation closely and discuss it regularly with our can suppliers."

In South Africa supermarkets and the South African Fruit and Vegetable Canners Association have threatened to seek a Competition Commission investigation into pricing there, following ArcelorMittal SA's announcement of tinplate price increases of 68.9% for food products and 78.6% for beverage products from the start of this month. However a company spokesman explained that the price rises were based on a transparent formula linked to international prices and the Rand exchange rate, which has depreciated sharply in the last year. He also noted that customers had been offered a mid-year review of prices last October to cushion the blow, but this had been turned down.
24 Apr 2009 Tongkah Harbour to acquire Indonesian mine

Thailand's Tongkah Harbour PCL expects to complete the purchase of a tin mine in Indonesia by the middle of this year as it extends capacity, its managing director Ronald Ng told Reuters. The mine in Kalimantan on Borneo island will also yield gold and zircon by-products. It had cash of about 500 million baht ($14 million), enough for it to fund the acquisition of the mine alone, but it would seek overseas corporate partners and sell some of its property in Thailand to free up some cash, Ng said. "We're working on the acquisition price of the (Indonesian) plant," he said. "We hope to finalise this by the middle of this year."

Tongkah Harbour was Thailand's last major tin miner, but ceased its offshore dredging activities in 2005. It is now mainly involved in gold mining and property management. It was considering reactivating its Thai tin interests last year before the slump in prices in the final quarter. Apart from the planned tin investment in Indonesia, it is also now looking at acquiring gold mines in neighbouring countries.