ITRI News

Coverage of iTSCi tracking programme in DR Congo may be expanded

8 Sep 2010 11:15 GMT

ITRI and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) have announced the commencement of a feasibility study to determine the practicality of extending the iTSCi Pilot Programme to Katanga province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The current pilot scheme, aimed at tracking “conflict minerals” and providing verifiable provenance information from individual mine sites in eastern DRC, began in June in South Kivu province and is expected to commence in North Kivu shortly.

The feasibility study will be conducted by PACT, an international development organisation with head offices in Washington DC, and is being financed by contributions from various T.I.C. member companies.

ITRI has been working since early 2009 on a phased approach towards improved due diligence, governance, and traceability of cassiterite from the DRC. The first phase of the iTSCi scheme has been operating since July 2009 and ensures all official export and evaluation d

LME tin volumes down

8 Sep 2010 14:11 GMT

Official data from the London Metal Exchange shows an overall rise in futures and options activity of 4% year-on-year in January-August, but tin volumes have fallen sharply.

In the eight months to August trading in all contracts amounted to 77.9 million lots, with much of the growth due to increased volumes in copper. Of the major base metals, lead, zinc and nickel also saw rises, although aluminium turnover fell by 7%.

Tin volumes were down 42% to 1.03 million lots. This reflects the fact that the comparison is with a period last year when trading activity was inflated by large scale speculative spread trading related to the “squeeze” on the market which came to a head in the second half of the year.

Consolidated Tin adds to resource

8 Sep 2010 10:15 GMT

Queensland-based Consolidated Tin Mines has now been granted a development licence for the Windermere project by the state government. This allows it to add to its total resource within the Mt Garnet area near Cairns.

The Windermere project has a current inferred JORC mineral resource of 2.1Mt at 0.55% tin. This increases the total JORC Mineral Resource at the Mt Garnet project to 7.3Mt at 0.6% tin, across its three key project areas - Gillian, Pinnacles and Deadmans Gully/Windermere. Both the Gillian project – which contains the highest grade ore – and Windermere were acquired by CTM from Metals X. Recent studies indicate that a central mill which would treat ore from all potential mining activity in the area could achieve tin-in-concentrate production of 3,175 tonnes per year at an initial ore throughput of 700,000 tpy. Eventual ore throughput could be one million tpy.

Economic History: The International Tin Cartel

8 Sep 2010 14:16 GMT

For most of the last century the tin market was regulated by intergovernmental agreements which have aimed to stabilise prices. Following the spectacular collapse of the International Tin Council in 1985/86, the “consensus” view has been that attempts to control production and prices are doomed to failure. However a new book by John Hillman*, Professor Emeritus at Trent University, Ontario, Canada, argues that “the failure of the International Tin Council should not be taken as a licence to dismiss the experience of commodity control” and notes that subsequent experience of a deregulated market has produced both extremely low and high prices and “does not appear to have been a superior method of co-ordinating the activities of producers and users of this indispensible metal”.

The book focuses mainly on an earlier ITC – the International Tin Committee which regulated tin supply from 1927 – 1946. Both ITCs have been criticis

Achmmach project update

1 Sep 2010 13:24 GMT

Kasbah Resources’ Achmmach tin project in Morocco is on track towards the completion of a pre-feasibility study on bulk underground mining of the deposit in the second quarter of next year. A full feasibility study should be completed in the first half of 2012, according to managing director Wayne Bramwell, speaking at the Africa Down Under mining conference in Perth today.

The mine is expected to produce 5,400 – 6,000 tpy of tin in concentrate over a phase one mine life of 6 years, based on the mining of 800,000 tpy of ore grading 0.9 – 1.0% tin. A drilling programme is currently continuing to firm up the underground resource towards a target of 10 million tonnes. As of August 2010 the inferred and indicated resource amounted to 7 Mt at 0.8% Sn. There may also be an opportunity for open pit mining of some shallow deposits.

The former managing director of Thaisarco, Mike Spratt, has recently joined the board of Kasbah as a non-executive director.

Timah's offshore drive continues

31 Aug 2010 15:13 GMT

Offshore tin mining is contributing more to Indonesian state-controlled tin miner PT Timah’s production, according to first half results released on Monday. January-June offshore tin-in-concentrate production rose by 28% year-on-year and contributed 52% of the company’s total mine production of 17,588 tonnes. In the second quarter this share rose to 68%. However while mine output has risen from quite depressed levels in the first half of 2009, refined tin production increased only marginally to 19,501 tonnes in H1 compared to 19,378 tonnes in the first half of last year. Meanwhile refined tin sales fell by 18% year-on-year to 19,760 tonnes. The differing comparisons are mainly due to the fact that Timah ran down its stocks of metal, slags and concentrates last year.

In a statement Timah said that it will be adding five new cutter suction dredges to its fleet by the end of 2010 and also noted that it is part of its strategic plan to limit sales of standard grade t

Minsur expects lower production in coming months

1 Sep 2010 13:25 GMT

Peruvian tin producer Minsur will see a temporary decrease in concentrate production at its San Rafael mine in Puno region, according to local paper Gestion today. The story, reported by BNAmericas, said that in compliance with a precautionary measure enforced by energy and mining investment regulator Osinergmin, Minsur will stop sending tailings to two existing storage areas and will instead use them in back-filling mined-out areas in the San Rafael mine. The move will reduce concentrate output by approximately 30%.

ITRI understands that the reduction in concentrate output should only be temporary and the situation is expected to be resolved in 3-4 months. The reduced concentrate supply will be partly covered by a draw-down of pipeline stocks and will therefore not be fully reflected in tin metal output by the company’s Funsur smelter near Ica. Refined tin production is expected to be reduced by between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes as a result. The Funsur smelter produced 2

Life after mining

1 Sep 2010 13:11 GMT

An International Conference and Exhibition on the Rehabilitation, Restoration and Transformation of Mining Land is to be held from 1 to 3 November 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, which is being co-organised and co-sponsored by the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) and major Malaysian industry corporations and organisations. “This will be the first Conference/Exhibition on such an important subject matter ever organised in the country or perhaps in the region, and we are certainly very excited about it” KLTM chairman Muhamad Nor told us. “Thus far, we have some 30 confirmed papers to be presented at the two day conference, with about one third by international speakers. We expect a turnout of over 300 participants to the conference.”

The main object of the event is to highlight the fact that mining is a sustainable activity and can be done with minimal impact to the environment. Even after mining is long gone and the minerals in the ground extracted, the ex-min

Adex arranges funding for Mount Pleasant project

25 Aug 2010 12:20 GMT

Adex Mining Inc has announced a deal with a Hong Kong based investor to arrange funding for its Mount Pleasant project in New Brunswick, Canada. Adex could potentially start production of tin, zinc and indium from the North Zone of the project in 2012, while another orebody could subsequently produce tungsten, molybdenum and other by-products.

Great Harvest Canadian Investment Company Limited will provide up to C$12 million in equity and C$50 million in loans, which will cover the great majority of estimated C$71 million pre-production capital requirements for the North Zone project. A final feasibility study is due to be completed not later than May 2011.

A preliminary economic assessment of the project is based on production of 3,200 tpy of tin-in-concentrate over a 10 year mine life and Adex will later this year also examine the viability of building its own smelter to treat this. Zinc and Indium production is indicated at 4,000 tpy and 40 tpy respectively. Indica

Food cans celebrate bicentenary

23 Aug 2010 15:03 GMT

America’s Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) is drawing attention to the fact that this week we should be celebrating the 200th “Can-niversary” of the food can, and “acknowledging its consistent relevance in our past, present and future.”

The can revolution began on August 25, 1810, when Englishman Peter Durand was granted a patent for an idea to preserve food in tinplate vessels. The can manufacturing industry was born in England in 1812 and was brought to the United States by an English immigrant, Thomas Kensett, that same year. Kensett originally started his canning business with glass jars, but soon, like Durand, switched to tin and received a U.S. patent in 1825.

"From the single-serving cans of soup mothers across America use to feed their children to the industrial-size cans of vegetables cooks use to feed our troops at military bases around the world, the can's popularity will continue to endure as cans are the most reliable,

Indonesian exports steady

23 Aug 2010 12:55 GMT

The tonnage of tin metal checked prior to export from Indonesia in July was 8,870 tonnes, 1% higher than in the same month last year and 10% up on the previous month. “Smelters raised output and released their stockpiles after gains in tin price,” Alberth Tubogu, export director for mining and industry products at the Ministry of Trade, told Bloomberg. However year-to-date shipments in the seven months to July this year, at 52,133 tonnes, are 12.2% lower than in the same period of 2009, due to adverse weather and the depletion of onshore mining areas. This has affected production by small mines and private smelters in particular.

Prolonged rains after the usual end of the wet season in Indonesia in the first quarter have hampered mining and further tightened tin ore supply. "It will affect our offshore production. But we expect to boost output in the second half," Abrun Abubakar, corporate secretary of state miner PT Timah Tbk , told Reuters. He said th

Yunnan Tin profits, tin semis sales up

18 Aug 2010 12:15 GMT

Yunnan Tin Company, China’s and the world’s largest tin producer posted a net profit of RMB 184 million yuan (US$ 27 million) for the first half of this year, up 544 % from a year earlier. The company increased its refined tin production by 19.6% to 29,400 tonnes in January-June, and also announced an even stronger recovery in the performance of its downstream businesses. YTC produced 8,459 tonnes of tin chemical products in the first half, up 69% from a year ago, and 8,998 tonnes of tin products (mainly solders), up 45% year-on-year.

Rwanda protests new US mineral policy

17 Aug 2010 17:36 GMT

The short period the US has given countries to prove their minerals are not from DR Congo will disrupt supply and hurt economies, a Rwandan government told East Africa Business Week. The US financial reform act passed by President Obama on 20 July includes a provision requiring companies to disclose whether they use minerals from DRC or neighbouring countries within nine months.

Dr. Michael Biryabarema, Director General Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority argues that enough time is required for companies to put mineral tracing processes in place, since the legislation implies that even minerals produced in countries neighbouring DRC have to be certified. "This calls for the mineral sector in Rwanda to strengthen its capacity in documentation and be in position to satisfy the consumer community. The timing for implementation should be clearly studied to avoid hurting the industry that has no connection to the conflict source whatsoever," Biryabarema said.

Rwa

Rains hamper Indonesian production

17 Aug 2010 17:12 GMT

Tin production in Indonesia, the world's largest exporter, may fall 20% short of a government target of 105,000 tonnes as unseasonally long rains hamper mining. "Rains could cause a 20 percent fall in tin output for this year from our initial target," Witoro Soelarno, secretary at the directorate general of minerals, coal and geothermal at the energy ministry told Reuters.

The new government forecast would take output towards levels already expected by analysts because of declining reserves and a crackdown on illegal mining. The Indonesian meteorology agency, in a twice-yearly forecast on 11 August, said the unseasonal rains in the country could continue all year.

Pirquitas performance improves, but tin start-up still delayed

17 Aug 2010 17:13 GMT

Silver Standard Resources reported increased output and falling operating costs at its Pirquitas silver-tin-zinc project in Argentina, but has further downgraded its estimate of tin-in-concentrate production in 2010 to some 270 tonnes. The operation has a theoretical annual tin capacity of some 2,500 tpy .

In its latest quarterly results statement the company confirmed that it plans to produce seven million ounces of silver at a net cost (after by-product credits) of $10/ounce. However it has advanced plans for zinc production but delayed tin production relative to its initial plans. Due to high zinc values encountered in the mine, the company is now anticipating producing 3.0 million pounds of zinc (1,360 tonnes) in 2010, commencing zinc concentrate shipments at the end of June. In a statement Silver Standard said that “the tin circuit is commissioned and will be operated when suitable material is available. Due to the lower tin grades in the initial levels of t