# Tin: Characteristics

Why a weak metal is perfect for joining things

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/characteristics/

What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).

#### Supply volume characteristics

| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Current production volume** | about 290,000 t mine output (2025e); 371,200 t refined (2024) | Mine output slipped from 294,000 t in 2024 as Myanmar fell from 20,000 t to 12,000 t and Bolivia from 21,200 t to 15,000 t. Refined output includes recycled tin and is led by mainland China at 194,000 t. | USGS MCS 2026; ITA (13 Mar 2025) |
| **Inventory and stock levels** | US consumer and dealer stocks 8,100 t (end-2025); LME stocks typically a few thousand tonnes (indicative) | Exchange stocks on the LME and SHFE are thin relative to about 370,000 t of annual refined use, often only days of world consumption, which is why small stock changes move spreads sharply. The US government stockpile listed 640 t of tin for potential disposal in FY2025. | USGS MCS 2026; LME stock level indicative |
| **Capacity utilisation** | not published | No global smelter utilisation series is published in the sources used. Smelting is concentrated: the ten leading smelters made about 63% of 2024 refined output, and Chinese smelters compete for scarce concentrate after Myanmar's Wa region cut supply, so the binding limit is ore, not furnace capacity. | ITA (13 Mar 2025); USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Geographic and producer concentration** | China 25.4%, top-3 54.5% (China, Indonesia, Peru), HHI 1,349 (2024 mine output); ten smelters about 63% of refined tin | Country concentration is moderate, but supply rests on fragile sources: informal miners in Indonesia, the Wa region of Myanmar, eastern DR Congo and Bolivian state mines. Yunnan Tin alone refined 85,000 t in 2024, about 23% of world refined output. | World Mining Data 2026 (2024 data); ITA (13 Mar 2025) |
| **Supply elasticity** | low for hard-rock mines (about 7-10 years to build); faster but erratic for informal placer supply | Placer and artisanal output in Indonesia, Myanmar and Central Africa can rise within months when prices are high, but is often cut by licensing, enforcement or conflict. Large hard-rock projects are slow and few. Recycling, already a growing share, responds to price within a year or two. | content_v2 methods (USGS MCS 2026; Pitron 2020); lead time indicative |
| **Project pipeline and CapEx** | small: a few thousand tonnes a year of new mine supply per project | A US company began building a $65 million tin smelting and processing plant in Martinsville, Virginia in September 2025, due to operate by late 2026, backed by a $19 million Defense Production Act award. PT Timah raised Q1 2026 output by 82% to 5,630 t as Indonesia cracked down on illegal mining. | USGS MCS 2026; ITA (6 May 2026) |
| **Logistics and export flows** | refined tin exports worth $5.9 billion (2024); Indonesia 23.9%, Peru 15.5%, China 9.1%, Malaysia 9.0%, Bolivia 8.9% of export value | Much ore moves as concentrate to Chinese smelters, especially overland from Myanmar's Wa region into Yunnan, a route that shuts when the Wa authorities suspend mining. Indonesian ingot must trade through the ICDX exchange in Jakarta before export. Importers are spread: the US 13.8%, China 12.7%, Japan 9.9%, Korea 7.7%, Germany 7.4%, India 7.1%. | UN Comtrade 2024 (HS 8001); content_v2 trading |

#### Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity

Tin is bought for a low melting point, the ability to wet and bond to copper and steel, and resistance to corrosion with no toxicity in food contact. Commercial value depends on purity, since lead, antimony and iron spoil solder and tinplate. Its mechanical strength is very low, so it is used as a coating, a solder or an alloying element, not as a structural metal.

| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Purity / grade** | LME contract: at least 99.85% Sn; premium grades 99.9-99.99% for electronics | Sets which ingots can be delivered on the LME and which buyers (solder makers want low lead) will pay a premium | LME tin contract specification |
| **Melting point** | 231.9 C pure tin; SAC305 lead-free solder (96.5% Sn, 3% Ag, 0.5% Cu) melts at about 217-220 C | Low melting temperature lets circuit boards be soldered without damaging components; it is the core of the solder market | CRC Handbook (standard value); IPC J-STD-006 alloy designation |
| **Tensile strength and hardness** | pure tin about 15-20 MPa tensile, about 4-5 HB (indicative) | Too soft for structures, so tin is used as a coating or alloyed into bronze, where 8-12% Sn greatly raises hardness and wear resistance | ASM Handbook (indicative) |
| **Electrical conductivity** | about 15% IACS (resistivity about 0.115 micro-ohm m) | Adequate for solder joints and connector plating; far below copper, so it is never the main conductor | CRC Handbook (standard value) |
| **Corrosion resistance and food safety** | tinplate coatings typically 1-11 g/m2 per side (EN 10202 grades such as E2.8/2.8) | A thin, non-toxic tin layer stops steel cans rusting and is approved for food contact, which defines the tinplate market | EN 10202 (tinplate standard) |
| **Tin pest (low-temperature stability)** | white beta tin turns to brittle grey alpha tin below 13.2 C | Small alloy additions (antimony, bismuth, copper) are needed to stop solder joints and tin products crumbling in cold use | CRC Handbook (standard value) |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/criticality/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/links/index.md)