tin .stockpiles critical .lowest since 2005

Tin stockpiles fell belorw 8000t to settle at 7,980t.
This is the lowest since 2005 .In response to this ,tin prices hit a new record high of 21,300 during trade .
China imposed a 10% tax on exports of tin to protect their local supply ,and Indonesia are considering further limiting supply ,presumably for the same reason .Illegal Tin mining has also been stopped in environmentally sensitive areas ,and authorities have shut down mining and smelter operations suspected of recieving illegally mined tin . Indonesia also plans to limit mining and exploration rights to stop large scale monopolies .The limit will be reduced to 25,000 hectares per metal per company .Tin is used to coat other metals such as tin cans ,and solder for electronics ,so unlike some metals recycling of tin is very low . We simply have to keep finding more to meet increasing demand .US stockpiles of tin have been run down from selling about 8,000tpa ,and is said to be nearly exhausted .Bear in mind that 8,000 t is the total LME stockpile at the moment .Its easy to see that a supply crunch could be happening . China and Indonesia have started to recognise that large deposits of tin are not common and are moving to protect their own reserves for the future. The supply situation is critical now ,and MLX could not have chosen a better time to begin Tin mining .