# Tin: Overview

From solder to tinplate cans and chemicals

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

What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.

#### Key uses

| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Solder for electronics assembly** | 52% | about 186,000 t a yearbasis | Tin melts at 232 C, wets copper well and forms reliable joints. Lead-free rules in the EU (RoHS) and elsewhere pushed electronics to tin-silver-copper alloys that are mostly tin. Every circuit board in phones, servers, cars and solar inverters is joined this way, so solder tracks electronics output. EU CRM study 2023; ITA study (30 Oct 2024); USGS MCS 2026 | Conductive epoxy adhesives (some low-temperature joints) Bismuth-tin and indium alloys (low-temperature niche solders) Press-fit and crimp connectors (some board-level joints) |
| **Tin chemicals (PVC stabilisers, catalysts, glass coatings)** | 18% | about 64,000 t a yearbasis | Organotin compounds stop PVC pipes and profiles from degrading when heated and act as catalysts for polyurethane and silicones. Tin oxide coatings make low-emissivity glass. These uses are small per product but very widespread, and demand follows construction, which is why China's property slump cut chemical use in 2022. EU CRM study 2023; ITA press release (17 Oct 2023); USGS MCS 2026 | Calcium-zinc and lead-based PVC stabilisers Bismuth and zinc catalysts Silver-based low-emissivity coatings |
| **Tinplate for food and drink cans** | 13% | about 46,000 t a yearbasis | A very thin coating of tin stops steel from rusting and does not react with food. Tinplate is cheap, strong, easily recycled with steel scrap and approved for food contact everywhere. Demand is mature in rich countries and still growing in India, where tinplate use is only 0.49 kg a person (IBM 2022). EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026; IBM Indian Minerals Yearbook 2022 (Tin) | Aluminium cans Tin-free (chromium-coated) steel Glass, paper cartons and plastic |
| **Copper alloys (bronze, brass, bearings)** | 6% | about 21,000 t a yearbasis | Adding tin to copper makes bronze, which is harder, wears well and resists seawater. It is used in bearings, bushings, valves, marine fittings and springs. Babbitt bearing metals also contain tin. ITA recorded a 16.9% fall in tin-copper use in 2023, showing how cyclical this industrial market is. EU CRM study 2023; ITA study (30 Oct 2024); USGS MCS 2026 (substitutes) | Aluminium alloys and other copper-base alloys Plastic bearings Steel-backed polymer bushings |
| **Lead-acid batteries** | 6% | about 21,000 t a yearbasis | Small tin additions to lead-calcium grids improve corrosion resistance and charge acceptance in car and e-bike batteries. ITA reports this was the one growing end use in 2023 (up 3.1%), helped by China's e-bike market. EU CRM study 2023; ITA study (30 Oct 2024) | Lead-antimony grids (older designs) Lithium-ion batteries replacing lead-acid altogether |

 Shares are EU end-use shares (EU CRM 2023, other uses 5%) applied to world refined tin use of 357,100 t in 2023 (ITA); total tin use including recycled and unrefined tin was 433,000 t. US shares differ (USGS 2025: chemicals 25%, tinplate 16%, alloys 12%, solder 11%) because most electronics are assembled in Asia.

#### From mine to user

1. **1. Exploration and mining of cassiterite** Tin comes from cassiterite (tin oxide) in hard-rock lodes or river and offshore placers. World mine output was about 290,000 t in 2025 (USGS).
2. **2. Gravity concentration** Cassiterite is heavy, so jigs, spirals and shaking tables separate it from sand and rock. On Bangka, divers on barges vacuum tin sand from about 20 m below the sea (Pitron 2020).
3. **3. Smelting** Concentrate is reduced with carbon in furnaces. Ten leading smelters made about 63% of 2024 refined output (ITA).
4. **4. Refining to ingot** Crude tin is refined to 99.85% or better ingot, the traded form. World refined output was 371,200 t in 2024, of which mainland China produced 194,000 t (ITA).
5. **5. Trading and stocking** Ingots move through LME and SHFE warehouses or direct contracts. US consumer and dealer stocks were 8,100 t at end-2025 (USGS).
6. **6. Fabrication** Ingot becomes solder bar, wire and paste, tin chemicals, and coating on tinplate lines. Tinplate Company of India made 374,182 t of tinplate in FY2022 (IBM).
7. **7. End use and recycling** Tin ends up in electronics, cans, PVC and alloys. In the US about 17,000 t was recycled from scrap in 2025, 10,000 t of it from old scrap (USGS).

#### Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
 LME tin cash settlement 51k US$/t Close 2026-10-23 · Westmetall (LME data) 1 week **+0.3%** 6 months **+1.2%** World production 282k tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 25.41% of world Reserve life 21 yrs reserves ÷ 2025 output

#### Three things to know

- Tin has not been mined in the United States since 1993 or smelted there since 1989 (USGS).
- An Indonesian tin producer's spokesperson called tin the first mineral used in an embargo, when raw exports were stopped in 2003 (Pitron).
- Myanmar's tin mine output fell from about 20,000 tonnes in 2024 to an estimated 12,000 in 2025 (USGS).

#### Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days

- [Data centre copper demand nears 1 million tonnes, tin price doubles: LME Week metals debate](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixgFBVV95cUxNQzg3YnZuQ3piWlgwT0M1eEd5Zm1xZ3c2SHdIRHZBb0JwWmt1cmFyMDFBbEhyZGNpRFFBZUxpcWdYWHZITGt3eVF5OTdEU0s5dmlZR0RfcVljZ2poTWxvRk9GS0lWX0xsLWtzTnF4OVpDSTVZTEh0TjAyT3EySlB1VzVaMWhSS25fMWVDWENFS2RKeVRPTjZBSFl4enhpX25xbEdZTS1MWWZFejhWUzZkMTZkeFh0VU5VSGRfZVNlNzNlUlA3TGc?oc=5)Fastmarkets · 2026-10-20
- [Singers underground as mine prepares to reopen](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiW0FVX3lxTE1URC1WWE1KdG1FMzJqTWgzWERhcUxnMHAtd0pJV1BPbHZ5TFByWjlSTDVWZFdheVN4TjZjMk9HbUFvYTFwS2NDRDU5ZVpaVVR5NFJ6bEttdVpwczQ?oc=5)BBC · 2026-10-12
- [Cornish proposes £135m financing, secures tin offtake agreement with Glencore](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiwAFBVV95cUxONGZaSGxwTWxBR0lmMl9Kc3RVbVVFeG16MkVEaXdnbXdWb1NWYkR3OUFZUjh6NTFXXzJWXzByTGtKZHZpbmZiOWJ3T1JJMXBpdGVpWnBhdGpZdTNINGpqQklaZVA5ejhHUDNfY3U3V25MWnN5cDNoUVlCcXJQQ0xpMk1LTVpneXpHNm1jeUcydlZWQkkxNkVWdkJaTVk0d0ZFXzJzVklZU1BTMFV6TFllM3ZNb3Q4aUxVMTVHSU1DRnU?oc=5)Mining Weekly · 2026-10-20
- [Namibia tin producer’s gross profit up fourfold on 80% revenue surge](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMitAFBVV95cUxNMEQ2Nm5nSWdxZWFzNUJ2dWJwd08yVHJCTVc1c3EzclM1YVJ0eEN4UDlCWWVzeUhIREdyUkxlWlpuQWV2RThTWEpJMURWZzhfb254NXo3UmU0LTVROHVnN3JkTWZIWjFMLXVjTFJjTFdBTHBPT0JMM2gwRnc1RHZDTVZQczNxemFzaWtkQjljNDh0YUdXNXh1R2k5ZTloX1BIOGRBc3dWdVVZODZiaFQwbXBpOEs?oc=5)Mining Weekly · 2026-10-21
- [Cornish Metals faces costly financing hurdle](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid0FVX3lxTE9tS2E3SG4xcXAyTzJIbUU2aEozakV5a0dESlNwUXkwZlBLam5CRERTWGZ5cDFUNWFPMnF2SkwtRkY4RmFUU05YcUtwOXdtODZfU2xOVE9PU1BsNmkzSEt4Z2ZGYjdLTGNaWFRDbFJGQUYxamk3ZXJ3?oc=5)Mining.com · 2026-10-20

#### Chemicals made from it
[Add Polymer additives](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polymer_additives/)

#### Read the tabs
[Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/extraction/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/production/)[Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/stocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/movement/)[Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/criticality/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/emissions/)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/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)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/links/index.md)