Tin

Tin - The Enabler of Sustainable Electronics

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The Ayawilca polymetallic project stands out as one of the most promising undeveloped zinc, silver, and tin deposits in the world. Tinka’s 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on the Ayawilca zinc-silver-tin project in central Peru underscores its robust economics and strategic exposure to critical metals.

Ayawilca Tin Zone

One of the key developments to come out of the revised 2024 PEA was the inclusion of a tin into the Ayawilca PEA mine plan. The tin mineralization at Ayawilca is separate from the zinc, and the tin would be processed in a separate circuit. Successful metallurgical testing in the past two years improved the recovery of the tin from the Ayawilca project, which occurs as cassiterite the most coming ore-forming mineral of tin. The Tin Zone mineral resource at Ayawilca currently contains 235 million pounds of tin (or 106,000 tonnes Sn). This is the largest tin resource in Peru outside of the producing tin mine at San Rafael (Minsur).

The 2024 PEA envisages annual tin production at Ayawilca of around 1,500 tonnes tin per year (as tin concentrate) for 15 years, contributing 11% to the project's overall economics. The Tin Zone remains untested at depth, as the focus of previous drill programs has been for zinc.

Navigating the Tin Market

As the global economy continues to evolve for a greener and cleaner future, the demand for strategically important metals such as tin is strong and is expected to grow.

Tin, the silvery-white metal renowned for its corrosion resistance and low melting point, is found predominantly in a handful of key producing countries with China, Indonesia, and Myanmar leading the pack. Peru is the 4th largest tin producer from one mine, Minsur’s San Rafael mine. Tin is the highest value of all base metals, currently trading around US$30,000 per tonne, however it is also the smallest market compared with the other base metals with an estimated 400,000 tonnes of tin used per year globally.

Tin – What’s it Good For?

Tin is the key component of solder in electrical circuit boards and is essential in the production of computers, mobile phones, and hi-tech applications. Tin has unique properties that render it indispensable across a number of important sectors, including electronics, automotive, packaging, and construction. With the proliferation of electronic gadgets and the rapid adoption of emerging technologies such as 5G and AI, the demand for tin in the electronics sector is poised for sustained growth.

Tin chemicals for such things as PVC stabilizers are an important use of tin with growing demand. Tin-plated steel cans are still used for the storage of some food items such as fruit juice, paint and chemicals but global consumption of tinplate is static or declining.

The Emerging Green Economy

Amidst global shifts towards sustainability, demand for critical metals like tin remains robust, driven by greener economic initiatives and especially the high technology sectors. Tin's role as solder is unique due to its corrosion resistance and low melting point. A study by Rio Tinto in conjunction with MIT (2018) indicated that tin is the metal most impacted by demand in new technology, whether in semiconductors/ advanced computing, renewable energy, electric vehicles or advanced robotics. Tin chemicals for such things as PVC stabilizers are an important use of tin with growing demand. Tin-plated steel cans are still used for the storage of some food items such as fruit juice, paint and chemicals but global consumption of tinplate is static or declining.

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