Tin

Overview

Tin is a soft, pliable metal with a low melting point. It is used to coat steel against corrosion in tin cans and in alloys such as solder, pewter and bronze. Most flat window glass is made by floating molten glass on a bath of molten tin.¹

Solder is by far the largest use worldwide, which ties tin demand closely to electronics.² Mine supply comes from a small number of countries, several of them affected by conflict, informal mining or export restrictions. Tin is on the 2025 US List of Critical Minerals.³

Where it comes from

World tin resources are mainly in western Africa, southeastern Asia, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia. World mine production was about 290,000 t in 2025, led by China and Indonesia.⁴

• China71,000 t · 24%
• Indonesia61,000 t · 21%
• Peru33,000 t · 11%
• Brazil28,000 t · 10%
• Congo (Kinshasa)27,000 t · 9%
• Bolivia15,000 t · 5%
• Burma (Myanmar)12,000 t · 4%
• Australia12,000 t · 4%
• Other countries32,100 t · 11%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 290,000 t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tin

Tin has not been mined in the United States since 1993 or smelted there since 1989.⁴

Indonesia holds the largest reserves, followed by China. Reserve data are not available for several producers, including Malaysia, Nigeria and Rwanda.⁴

• Indonesia1,400,000 t · 23%
• China1,200,000 t · 20%
• Brazil700,000 t · 12%
• Burma (Myanmar)700,000 t · 12%
• Australia570,000 t · 9%
• Russia460,000 t · 8%
• Bolivia400,000 t · 7%
• Other countries574,000 t · 10%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS gives the world total as more than 6 million t. Reserves for several producers, including Malaysia, Nigeria and Rwanda, are not available. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tin

What it is used for

According to the International Tin Association (ITA), world refined tin use was about 357,100 t in 2023. Total use, including unrefined tin, was about 433,000 t. Solder accounted for 51% of tin use.²

US consumption looks different: chemicals and tinplate are the largest uses, and solder accounts for about 11%.⁴

{{chart:end-uses}}

Grades and forms

Tin is traded as concentrate and, mostly, as refined ingot. Downstream it is sold as solder, tinplate, alloys and chemicals. Tin(II) chloride is the most important tin salt, and tin(IV) oxide is used in ceramics and gas sensors.¹

Trade and policy

The United States relied on imports for 77% of its refined tin in 2025. Peru (31%), Bolivia (27%), Indonesia (15%) and Brazil (10%) were the main sources in 2021–24.⁴

Myanmar (Wa State). Authorities in the Wa self-administered region suspended mining from 1 August 2023. Man Maw, the region's main tin mine, stayed closed through 2024.⁵ Myanmar's output fell by nearly half in 2024, to 21,300 t.⁶ In March 2025 the Wa authorities announced the ban would be lifted.⁶ By July 2025 several operators had received three-year mining permits.⁷ Shipments of concentrate to China rose to about 1,300 t of contained tin a month in November–December 2025. A cost-sharing fee for dewatering the mine took effect on 1 March 2026.⁸ By September 2026 ore was moving again, but output remained well below pre-suspension levels.⁹

Indonesia. Indonesia has banned exports of unprocessed ore, including tin, since January 2014.¹⁰ A corruption case over PT Timah's mining concession for 2015–2022 led to the seizure of private smelters with about half of the country's refining capacity, and output fell below 50,000 t in 2024.¹¹ In February 2025 an appeals court raised the sentence of a key defendant to 20 years.¹² From 1 September 2025 the government ordered a large-scale operation against illegal mining in Bangka Belitung.¹³ Confiscated smelters were later handed to PT Timah.¹⁴ Tin is due to be the first commodity traded on a new Indonesian exchange from 4 January 2027.¹⁵

DRC. The Bisie mine stopped operating on 13 March 2025 for security reasons as rebels advanced in North Kivu. It began a phased restart in April 2025 after they withdrew.¹⁶

United States. Since June 2025, certain tinplate products have been covered by the 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel products. The rate for the United Kingdom is 25%.⁴

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

The ITA estimates that recycled tin made up about 34% of tin use in 2023.² In the United States, about 17,000 t of tin was recycled from old and new scrap in 2025. The 10,000 t or so recovered from old scrap was equal to 22% of apparent consumption.⁴

Aluminum, glass, paper, plastic and tin-free steel can replace tinplate in containers. Epoxy resins can replace solder in some uses, and aluminum alloys, other copper alloys and plastics can replace bronze.⁴

Sources

1. Tin: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²

2. ITA Study – Tin use in recovery cycle. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

4. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tin. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

5. Man Maw: news archive. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

6. Wa authorities to lift mining ban in Myanmar. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²

7. Tin shipments from Myanmar's Wa State due to resume, states International Tin Association. DVB (Reuters), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

8. Wa formalises dewatering cost-sharing as mine restart progresses. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

9. Myanmar's mega tin mine in Man Maw restarts operations: Think tank. The Star (AFP), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

10. Commodities exchange: a ban on unprocessed ore exports should drive demand for onshore contracts. Oxford Business Group, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

11. Indonesia supply disruption fades as investigation concludes. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

12. Harvey Moeis' prison sentence increased to 20 years in tin corruption case. Indonesian National Police, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

13. Govt calls for shutdown of 1,000 illegal tin mines in Bangka Belitung. Antara, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

14. Confiscated smelters handed over to PT Timah amid mining crackdown. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

15. Tin to be first commodity on Indonesia's new exchange. International Tin Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

16. Alphamin announces decision to resume mining operations. Alphamin Resources, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩