Source:  ITRI Ltd

Japan tin imports show delayed quake effect    (02 Aug 2011)    

Official trade data shows the lagged effect of the natural disasters which hit Japan in March on refined tin demand in Japan.  After holding up quite well through April and May, June imports slumped to 1,932 tonnes, down 43% on June 2010.  Data captured by Mitsubishi Corporation Unimetals showed a particularly large fall in imports from Thailand between May and June, with tonnage falling by 58% m-o-m to 426 tonnes.

 

Yunnan Tin Co (YTC) plans to raise up to 4.08 billion yuan ($634 million) in an A-share offering to undisclosed investors to finance its plans to acquire mining assets and expand copper and lead smelting capacities.  From the proceeds, 1.135 billion yuan will be used to develop a 1.5 million tpy copper-tungsten project currently controlled by its parent Yunnan Tin Holding Group, 1.14 billion yuan will be invested on a 100,000 tpy Ausmelt copper smelter project, 170 million yuan will be spent on land for both the copper smelter and a proposed 100,000 tpy lead smelter.  Of the remainder, it plans to channel 835 million yuan into three mineral exploration projects in Yunnan’s Geiju district involving tin, copper and tungsten.

YTC, the world’s largest tin producer by output, reported a strong increase in financial performance with net profit in the first half 2011 up by 93% to 354 million yuan and operating revenue surged by 40% y-o-y to 6.357 billion yuan.

Strong first half for Cookson    (02 Aug 2011)

The diversified Cookson Group plc reported strong growth in sales of solder products in the first half of 2011, although this was mainly due to the passing on of higher tin and silver prices.

Looking ahead Cookson reported that “while macro-economic conditions remain uncertain, to date we have seen no material change in end-market, or trading, trends beyond normal seasonal effects.”  For the full year 2011, it expects slightly higher than mid-single digit growth in global electronics equipment production, with the usual seasonal peak in the current quarter.

Achmmach drilling programme back to full speed by September    (01 Aug 2011)   

Kasbah Resources reported that it has signed a letter of intent to appoint Spektra Jeotek AS to carry out exploration drilling work at its Achmmach project in Morocco to help it complete a Pre-Feasibiity Study of the project by the first quarter of 2012.  Spektra is expected to have three new diamond drill rigs, support equipment and personnel on site and operational during September 2011.  Kasbah now targets to have up to five diamond rigs operating by the last quarter of 2011.  One of the key inputs to the Pre-Feasibility Study is to increase the size and to upgrade the resource at Achmmach.  The current indicated and inferred JORC resource at Achmmach is 7.0 million tonnes of ore at an average 0.8% Sn, containing 54,000 tonnes of tin.

Renison performance improving slowly   (28 Jul 2011)   

Metalx reported that its 50% owned Renison mine in Tasmania produced 1,333 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate in the latest quarter, 7% higher than in the previous period, but still 20% lower than in the second quarter of 2010 (when the mill feed was being supplemented by ore from the now-closed Mt Bischoff mine).  Mine production continues to be constrained by contractor underperformance and equipment availability.  A move into production from the higher grade Renison North lode is expected to boost productivity from the end of the current quarter.