If someone had asked you about the tin markets, you might not have anything to say for it is not a well know subject although prices have weather relatively well.

In an article by Andy Home of Reuters, the price of a tonne of tin since the start of 2020 is up 6.5% to $18.300. The high was in September reach $18.510.

Tin is classified as a critical mineral in the US, but not in Europe. Most people think of tin, they think about the tin can. The big issue in the market is what is China doing?

Total production per year is about 360,000 tonnes. If you think about the tin industry, for years it was a declining demand as steel-makers were using even thinner coatings and the packaging company shifted to using aluminum. The new usage for tin is nano-soldering in electronics. This usage now accounts for 48% of global usage, while tinplating was 13% according to the International Tin Association (ITA).

The producer of tin include the Belgium’s Metallo and the Wa area of Myanmar. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tin. The last mine in the US closed in 1993 and the last smelter in 1989.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all commodities are such to supply and demand and the world’s users are always searching for alternatives. From the tin can to electronics, who was paying attention? There is money to be made in many sectors, sometimes it takes patience.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.