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Tin |
AIMR 2008 |
Tin
Tin (Sn) is used in solders for joining metals and pipes, as a coating for steel cans and in metal alloys. The largest single application for tin is in solders, which accounts for about one third of total world consumption. Solders are used in light engineering applications such as plumbing and sheet metal work, in the motor vehicle industry and in cans for various uses. Another major application for tin is coating steel sheet in the manufacture of tinplate, which accounts for about 27% of world tin consumption. Tinplate is used for containers in the form of tin cans for food products, drinks, oils, paints, disinfectants and chemicals.
Resources
Australia's total EDR at December 2007 was 247 kt Sn, a small increase of 1 kt Sn on the resources in 2006. Australia's EDR of tin are in the following deposits: Collingwood (North QLD); Renison Bell and Mount Bischoff (western Tas); Greenbushes and Mt Deans (WA).
Accessible EDR
All of Australia's EDR for tin are unencumbered, and there are no restrictions to mining deposits.
JORC Reserves
JORC reserves comprise total tin resources in Proven and Probable Reserves as defined in the JORC Code. In 2007, JORC Code reserves of 216 kt Sn accounted for approximately 87% of AEDR.
Exploration
After a hiatus of almost two decades, tin exploration resumed during 2007 in the historical tin mining areas of far north Queensland, mainly at the Herberton-Mount Garnet and Tate tin fields. Companies proposed resource definition drilling for a number of hard-rock and alluvial tin deposits.
In the Mount Garnet-Herberton tin field 110 km south west of Cairns, Consolidated Tin Mine Ltd (CTM) commenced initial exploration over the Gillian (5 km south west of Mount Garnet), Windermere and Deadman's Gully (both approximately 25 km north east of Mount Garnet) tin deposits. These deposits are in iron-rich skarns adjacent to granitic intrusions. Although the deposits have been known since the 1970s, complex tin mineralogy which makes it difficult to recover the tin has meant that they have not been exploited. However, the company is investigating new metallurgical techniques, including tin fuming for processing the ores.
CTM also started evaluation of alluvial tin deposits at Nettle Creek (15 km E of Mount Garnet), Return Creek (5 km S of Mount Garnet) and Tate River (80 km W of Mount Garnet).
YDC Resources Ltd continued drilling at the Doradilla project 55 km south east of Bourke NSW. The Doradilla-Midway-3KEL tin deposits are within a linear skarn unit which can be traced for more than 17 km along strike. The top 40-60 m of the skarn are highly weathered. For Midway and 3KEL deposits, the company announced a combined inferred resource of 7.81 Mt averaging 0.28% Sn representing 22.3 kt Sn. The resource is limited to the weathered profile (laterite) where tin is hosted in stanniferous goethite, garnets, secondary cassiterite and minor primary cassiterite.
Malachite Resources continued bulk sampling of greisen veins at the Sheep Station Hill and Newstead tin-tungsten prospects 20 km east of Inverell in northern NSW. The company tested gravity concentration technologies for Newstead ores.
Production
Australia's mine production in 2007 was 2071 t Sn in concentrates, which was 40% higher than in 2006, and 118 t Sn of refined ingots, 79% less than in 2006. Mine production of concentrates occurred at Collingwood (QLD) and Greenbushes (WA). The increase in Australia's mine production was due to the commencement of production at Collingwood. Refined tin was produced at Greenbushes from smelting of concentrates. Total exports for 2007 were 2533 t Sn valued at $33 million.
World Ranking
Australia's EDR for tin was ranked at eight in the world with the major resources of EDR in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Russia.
Industry Developments
During 2007, tin prices (London Metal Exchange) rose from less than US$11,000 per tonne in January to end the year around US$16,100 per tonne. This steady rise followed a slump in prices in late 2005 as a result of sharp increases in small scale, illegal tin production from Indonesia. This production rapidly declined when these illegal operations were controlled (Metals X Limited, Quarterly report Dec. 2007).
Metals X Limited was Australia's main tin mining company in 2007. It operated the Collingwood mine 30 km south-west of Cooktown in North QLD and owns the historic Renison and Mount Bischoff mines, both of which remained on care-and-maintenance. Re-commissioning of both these mines and the Renison Concentrator began in early 2008 in response to increased tin prices.
Production of concentrates commenced at Collingwood in January 2006 and it was Australia's main tin producer through 2007. In February 2008, the company reported that mining had shown that the greisen tin zones were more erratic in shape and grade distribution than predicted by resource drilling. Because the mine had not achieved planned grades and metal production, the company decided to close it in mid-2008. Total Measured + Indicated + Inferred Resources at Collingwood at the time of the mine closure were estimated to be 642,000 t averaging 1.19% Sn, which represents 7680 t contained Sn.
The historic Renison Bell mine 15 km north east of Zeehan in Tas and concentrator were refurbished in 2005 and operated for about a year before being placed on care and maintenance in October 2005 due to low tin prices. However, by mid-2008 Metal X had re-commenced commissioning of the mine and concentrator in response to high tin prices.
Mining re-commenced at the historic Mount Bischoff open cut 80 km north of Renison in February 2008. Production from Mount Bischoff and future mine production from Renison underground mine will be processed at the Renison concentrator. In addition, a copper circuit will be added to enable production of a copper concentrate from the Renison ores.
Metals X is investigating the feasibility of reprocessing and recovering tin from tailings from historic processing of tin ores at Renison Bell mine. Resources in the tailings dam were estimated at 18.2 Mt averaging 0.42% Sn and 0.2% Cu containing 76,000 t Sn and more than 36,000 t Cu metal. The project (referred to as Rentails Project) has been through a pre-feasibility study from which the company reported that a combination of sulphide flotation and tin flotation separation techniques had produced a low grade concentrate which would be fumed to produce a saleable tin product. During 2007, Metals X completed pilot plant testing of all aspects of the project, including the tin fuming trials which were completed in early 2008.
Talison Minerals produced 118 t Sn refined ingots in 2007 from Greenbushes (WA), the world's largest hard rock tantalum mine. Tin occurs in association with tantalum minerals and is recovered as a by-product during ore processing, with ingots produced from a smelter at the site.
Van Dieman Mines continued development of the Scotia and Endurance alluvial mines in north east Tas. Alluvial mining operation commenced at Scotia in December with ore being stockpiled. Production of tin concentrates from the plant is scheduled to commence in 2008. Approximately 3 t of sapphire concentrates from the pilot plant were dried ready for processing and sorting. Evaluation drilling of the alluvials will continue in 2008.
Stonehenge Metals continued construction of a gravity separation mill at the Granville tin project, 20 km north of Zeehan in western Tas. Milling of stockpiled ore and production of tin concentrates are planned to commence in mid 2008. The project has tin resources in the Granville East and the Central Big 'H' deposit (both are strata-bound carbonate replacement type deposits), and the North Heemskirk deep lead alluvial deposit located 1 km north of the mill.
North Queensland Metals Ltd announced that the feasibility study for the Baal Gammon copper-tin-silver-indium project was completed and the mine would be developed in 2009. Copper will be the Main output together with the co-products of tin, silver and indium. The deposit is in the Herberton mining region west of Cairns, north QLD.
