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Tin in the News
LME Week 2016 is almost upon us. ITRI staff plan on attending various events in London next week and we look forward to seeing some of our regular readers there.This week we report on developments for ITRI's upcoming Asia Tin Week in Shanghai. We also report on the seasonal dip in Myanmar's ore exports and signs of rising tensions between rival groups in the country. Also included is news of the strong Q3 recovery in production at the Renison Mine and progress at the Granville Tin Project, both in Tasmania. Tom Mulqueen - Analyst, Markets |
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Timah chief to join ITRI Asia Tin Week leaders’ panel
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18 October: ITRI is pleased to announce that the recently appointed President Director of PT Timah, M. Riza Pahlevi Tabrani, has agreed to participate in a panel discussion on key issues with other tin industry leaders at the Asia Tin Summit meeting to be held in Shanghai on 22-23 November.The panel will be chaired by Lucy Hornby of the Financial Times and already includes Yunnan Tin Company General Manager Li Gang and Inge Hofkens, Chief Sales Officer of Metallo Chimique. YTC and PT Timah are the world's two largest integrated tin producers and Metallo Chimique is the biggest tin recycler. The panel will be completed by ITRI's Managing Director David Bishop and chief analyst Peter Kettle.Lucy Hornby is deputy bureau chief for the Financial Times in Beijing, specializing in energy, commodities and agriculture. She previously covered China for Reuters from Shanghai and Beijing. She has reported from all of China's provinces and regions.The panel discussion will be one of the highlights of the inaugural Asia Tin Week, which is expected to attract some 300 delegates from China and the rest of the world.
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Renison output recovers in Q3
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25 October: Metals X reported positive Q3 results from its 50% owned Renison tin mine in Tasmania yesterday, with a strong increase in production to 1,718 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate and a significant reduction in operating costs.Tin production rose 49% compared to Q2 and 4.5% compared to the same period of 2015, bringing total tin production for the calendar-year-to-date to 4,546 tonnes. Ore mined totalled 199,023t and plant throughput totalled 188,631t in Q3, both were new records for the operation. The increased production translated directly into lower unit costs; C1 cash costs fell 37% to A$11,028 per tonne compared to Q2, while full costs fell 24.5% to A$17,344 per tonne over the same period.ITRI View: Metals X operates the mine as a 50:50 joint venture with Yunnan Tin Group and other Chinese investors. The operation produced 6,816 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate in 2015, but production this year is likely to fall below within the 6,000-6,500t range, largely due to the dip in Q2 output during the transition from contract mining. However, if the mine's Q3 performance can be maintained going forwards, Renison's tin production should increase next year and has the potential to surpass the 2015 total.
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Rainy season hits Myanmar ore exports
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24 October: Customs figures released earlier this week show that the gross weight of China's tin ore and concentrate imports in September totalled 17,802 tonnes (estimated at 2,100t contained tin), up 75% year-on-year but equal to less than half of the August total. 98% of imports originated from Myanmar, where the rainy season has caused a seasonal dip in production.Total imports for the year to September amounted to 347,255 tonnes (of which 345,885 tonnes, or some 41,000t contained tin was from Myanmar), up by 90% compared to the same period of last year. While China’s ore and concentrate imports fell in September, imports of refined tin rose to 1,086 tonnes, up 37% year-on-year, with year-to-date imports totalling 6,551 t, down 11.3% compared to the first 9 months of 2015.Tin exports during the month totalled just 2 tonnes, bringing year-to-date exports to 727 tonnes.ITRI View: The September total represents the first major dip in Myanmar tin exports in seven months, with monthly exports ranging between 36,000t and 48,000t in the interim period. September has been an annual low point for exports over the last four years, with the occasional exception of low activity in February due to the Chinese New Year. However, a recovery in exports is expected from October onwards as the weather improves. Evidence gathered from a recent visit by Reuters to Man Maw has reasserted our longer term view that production from the area is in decline, as production costs rise due to falling grades and a transition to underground mining following depletion of open pit resources.
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Aus Tin plan Granville expansion
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25 October: Australia-based junior, Aus Tin Mining, has announced that it expects to deliver some 50 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate by the end of this year from its Granville Tin Project in Tasmania and has provided an update on plans for expansion of operations at the site.The company commenced production from the site in August and has since implemented a number of measures to increase throughput. The company anticipates it will deliver the first concentrate under its off-take agreement with Traxys later this month. Its estimates of 2016 production are based on the expected grade of tailings that it is re-processing.The company is also seeking approvals to expand the Granville operation by increasing the processing rate of existing ore stockpiles as well as resuming mining of the Granville East Open Pit. The expansion will include construction of a new processing plant that is expected to increase annual production to 550 tonnes.
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UWSA given deadline to withdraw troops
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25 October: The Myanmar army has ordered the United Wa State Army (UWSA) to withdraw all its troops from territory normally under the control of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA, Mongla Group) before a deadline of 24th October 2016. Tensions arose between the UWSA and NDAA, Myanmar’s two strongest ethnic armed organisations and former allies, in late September when a brigade of UWSA soldiers crossed into territory controlled the NDAA capturing two mountain outposts and a border checkpoint. Further troops were sent against an agreement between the armies and in mid-October the start of a new UWSA heavy artillery training program was announced which was expected to last for three months.The captured areas are in a vital location for the UWSA placed between the two territories the group occupies, one on the Thai border, and another on the Chinese border. The Myanmar army is also present in this economically strategic ‘Golden Triangle’ and government jets have recently been flying reconnaissance missions over Mongla. Some of the posts are now blocked preventing residents from passing from Mongla to the eastern Shan State administrative capital of Kengtung.The tension appears to have arisen from the 21st-century Panglong Conference and specifically the extent the ethnic groups should be supporting the new peace process. On the second day of the conference, the Wa delegates pulled out, preferring to keep a distance from the process, while NDAA remains more engaged in discussions. The UWSA also has higher expectations than the NDAA having lobbied the government to upgrade its autonomous zone into an ethnic state.ITRI View: The Man Maw mining area in Wa County remains an important source of tin globally, producing some 47,000t of tin in ore and concentrate form in 2015, 18% of the global total. A slight increase in the site's production to 49,000t of tin is anticipated this year. ITRI is monitoring developments in the region very closely as any significant escalation of tensions is likely to have a disruptive impact on production and external investment moving forwards.
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ITRI Asia Tin Week now less than a month away
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21 - 24 November 2016, Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao HotelThe programme for the fourth and final session of the ITRI Asia Tin Summit, which focusses on consumption and new tin applications, has now been finalised and features a mix of Chinese and international industry experts and leaders.The conference session will begin and end with presentations by ITRI analysts on the latest demand data and long-term threats and opportunities as a result of changes in technology.Valentijn Van Velthoven of Alent will be speaking on changes in tin applications in the electronics industry, where threats from miniaturisation and solderless technologies may be offset by growing automotive and industrial uses. Two of the leading companies in China will review the outlook for their respective sectors, with Gong Ting of Hubei Bengxing Chemical Company covering tin chemicals and Chen Zhiping of Tianneng Batteries Group covering the rapidly changing lead-acid battery business, where the e-bikes market may be saturated but new opportunities in other new energy areas are emerging. Looking further into the future, Prof. Wang Xiang of Nanchang University will be considering the role of tin catalysts in environmental protection and green energy production.Click here to view the full program and registerAsia Tin Week comprises two main formal sessions, both featuring simultaneous translation in English and Mandarin: The ITRI Asia Tin Summit, focussing on industry and market issues, and the China International Solder Technology Forum. Visits to the Shanghai Future Exchange or Yu Gardens are included as part of the event programme.
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