U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 930-J 

International Strategic Minerals Inventory 

Summary Report-Tin 

Prepared as a cooperative effort among earthscience and mineral-resource agencies of 

Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of 

Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the 

United Kingdom, and the United States of 

America 
G e ologic Time Scale 

I 

Million years Age before present 

Holocene 

Quaternary r- 0.01 

Pleistocene 

r- 2 u I 

6 Pliocene 

N r- r- 5 

0 24 

Miocene 

z tOligocene Tertiary w 

u t- 38 

Eocene t- 55 

Paleocene 1-- 63 

Late Cretaceous 

Cretaceous u r-- 96 

Early Cretaceous 6 

N t- 138 

0 Jurassic en 

w 

~ 205 -

Triassic 

-240 

Permian 

- 290 

Pennsylvanian 

Carboniferous ~ -330 

Mississippian u 

6 t- 360 

N Devonian 0 

w 410 ...J r-

<( Silurian a.. - 435 

Ordovician 

- 500 

Cambrian 

-570 u Late Proterozoic 0 - ~ t- 900 

Middle Proterozoic a: 

w t- 1600 z 1- ~ 0 rEarly Proterozoic a: 

a.. 2500 

a: 

al 

~ 

<( z 

<( 

w u 

:c w 

a: 

a.. u 

a: 

<( 
International Strategic Minerals Inventory 

Summary Report-Tin 

By David M. Sutphin, Andrew E. Sabin, and Bruce L. Reed 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 930-J 

Prepared as a cooperative effort among earthscience and mineral-resource agencies of 

Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of 

Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the 

United Kingdom, and the United States of 

America 

1990 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MANUEL LUJAN, Jr., Secretary 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director 

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive 

purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1990 

Free on application to the 

Books and Open-File Reports Section 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Federal Center, Box 25425 

Denver, CO 80225 

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

Sutphin, David M. 

International Strategic Minerals Inventory summary report-Tin I by David M. Sutphin, 

Andrew E. Sabin, and Bruce L. Reed. 

p. em. - (U.S. Geological Survey circular ; 930-J) 

"Prepared as a cooperative effort among earth-science and mineral-resource agencies of 

Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, 

the United Kingdom, and the United States of America." 

Includes bibliographical references. 

Supt. of Docs. no. : I 19.4/2:930-J 

1. Tin. 2. Strategic materials. I. Sabin, Andrew E. II. Reed, Bruce L., 

1934- . III. Title. IV. Series. 

TN480.S87 1989 

333.8'5483-dc20 89-600290 

CIP 
FOREWORD 

Earth-science and mineral-resource agencies from several countries started the 

International Strategic Minerals Inventory to gather cooperatively information about 

major sources of strategic mineral raw materials. This circular summarizes inventory 

information about major deposits of tin, one of the mineral commodities selected for the 

inventory. 

The report was prepared by David M. Sutphin and Bruce L. Reed of the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) and Andrew E. Sabin of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM). 

The tin inventory was compiled by Andrew E. Sabin (chief compiler); Ian S. McNaught, 

Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics; W. David Sinclair, 

Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR), Geological Survey of 

Canada; and Ian Crocker, South African Department of Mineral and Energy Mfairs, 

Geological Survey. Douglas Hartwick contributed information on the aspects of tin uses 

and supply. Additional contributions to the report were made by Antony B. T. Werner and 

Jan Zwartendyk, EMR, Mineral Policy Sector, and John H. DeYoung, Jr., USGS. 

Director 

CONTENTS 

I ~ 

~~~~~;~~:;,.~~;::,~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::::::-~ Lode deposits - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9 

Placer deposits - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 

Tin resources----------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 

Tin production- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16 

1 

Tin consumption - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21 jrt Conclusions------------------------------------------------------------------------ 22 

~~fe!!~~:l~i~:~ _ i~~~~~~:- ~~~o~a~~~~ :~~ ~i~- ~~~~~i~s- ~~~ _ ~i~~~t~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ Arditional references on tin resources - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 52 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

1, 2. Diagrams showing: 

1. United Nations resource categories used in this report ------------------------- 3 

2. U.S. tin consumption by finished product in 1986 and 1965 -------------------- 4 

3, 4. Maps showing: 

3. Location, deposit type, and estimated resources of major tin deposits and districts 

in the world - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 

4. Tin-bearing areas in Southeast Asia ---- -- ---------------------------------- 8 

5, 6. Simplified diagrams showing a typical: 

5. Bucket-line dredge and outboard concentrating plant ------------------------- 11 

6. Gravel-pump operation ------------------------------------------------- 12 

7. Map showing economic classification of the World Bank for countries where the 

world's major tin deposits and districts occur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13 

8-10. Bar graphs showing: 

8. Tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts according to their date of 

discovery - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16 

9. Proportions of total world mine production of tin accounted for by countries 

having major deposits in the ISMI tin inventory, selected years 1940-87 -- -- 17 

10. Countries having greater than 2,000 metric tons of tin mine production in any one 

of the selected years 1940-8 7- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18 

11-13. Graphs showing: 

11. Tin production for selected countries from 1980 to 1987 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19 

12. Concentration ratios for selected nonfuel mineral commodity production in 1913 

and 1980 ------------------------------------------------------------ 20 

13. Tin concentration ratios and prices for the years 1935 to 1988 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21 

14. Pie chart showing tin production and consumption in 1987 by economic class of 

country - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 23 

15. Map showing major tin deposits and districts, their present production status, and 

their probable production status in 2025 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24 
TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. Geologic deposit types represented by deposits in the ISMI tin inventory- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9 

2. Known economic tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts, by country, 

deposit type, and mining method ------------------------------------------- 14 

3. Tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts, by geologic deposit type and 

resource category - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - 14 

4. Tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts, by economic class of country 

and resource category- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15 

5, 6. Estimated cumulative and annual mine production of tin, contained in ore and concentrate: 

5. For each country having production for the period 1934-87 - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - 20 

6. By economic class of country for countries having a reported production from 1934 

through 1987---------------------------------------------------------- 21 

7. Tin RlE resources in the world's major deposits and districts, listed by mining method 

and economic class of country- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21 

8. Estimated cumulative and annual apparent consumption of tin by major tin-consuming 

countries - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22 

9. Selected geologic and location information from ISMI records for tin deposits and 

districts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26 

10. Selected production and mineral-resource information from ISMI records for tin deposits 

and districts------------------------------------- -------- ---------------- 38 
INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MINERALS INVENTORY 

SUMMARY REPORT 

TIN 

By David M. Sutphin, 1 Andrew E. Sabin, 2 and Bruce L. Reed1 

Abstract 

The International Strategic Minerals Inventory tin 

inventory contains records for 56 major tin deposits and 

districts in 21 countries. These countries accounted for 98 

percent of the 10 million metric tons of tin produced in the 

period 1934-87. Tin is a good alloying metal and is generally 

nontoxic, and its chief uses are as tinplate for tin cans and as 

solder in electronics. 

The 56 locations consist of 39 lode deposits and 17 

placers and contain almost 7.5 million metric tons of tin in 

identified economic resources (R1 E) and another 1.5 million 

metric tons of tin in other resource categories. Most of these 

resources are in major deposits that have been known for over 

a hundred years. lode deposits account for 44 percent of the 

R1E and 87 percent of the resources in other categories. Placer 

deposits make up the remainder. 

low-income and middle-income countries, including 

Bolivia and Brazil and countries along the Southeast Asian Tin 

Belt such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia; account for 91 

percent of the R1E resources of tin and for 61 percent of 

resources in other categories. The United States has less than 

0.05 percent of the world's tin R1E in major deposits. Available 

data suggest that the Soviet Union may have about 4 percent 

of resources in this category. 

The industrial market economy countries of the United 

States, Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, and the United 

Kingdom are major consumers of tin, whereas the major 

tin-producing countries generally consume little tin. The 

Soviet Union and China are both major producers and consumers of tin. 

At the end of World War II, the four largest tinproducing countries (Bolivia, the Belgian Congo (Zaire), Nigeria, and Malaysia) produced over 80 percent of the world's tin. 

Manuscript approved for publication August 14, 1989. 1 U.S. Geological Survey. 2 Formerly with the U.S. Bureau of Mines. 

In 1986, the portion of production from the four largest 

producers (Malaysia, Brazil, Soviet Union, Indonesia) declined 

to about 55 percent, while the price of tin rose from about 

$1,500 to $18,000 per metric ton. In response to tin shortages 

during World War II, the United States began stockpiling 

refined tin metal from approximately 1946 to 1953 to ensure a 

strategic supply in the event of another war. 

Since World War II, there have been six International 

Tin Agreements to maintain price and supply stability between 

tin producers and consumers. Artificially high prices set by the 

tin-producing members and a tin glut brought on by independent producers like Brazil caused the collapse of the 

world tin market in late 1985; the International Tin Council 

exhausted its credit to support the market price. 

By the year 2025, Bolivia's underground lode mines will 

likely have insignificant production, as will those in the United 

Kingdom. Tin mines in the Southeast Asian Tin Belt will still be 

active. Brazil, which has risen from the eighth-ranked tinproducing country in 1982 to the largest producer in 1988, will 

likely be a major influence on world tin production well into 

the 21st century. The future mining activity of deposits presently inactive in Australia is impossible to predict. 

PART I-OVERVIEW 

INTRODUCTION 

The reliability of future supplies of so-called strategic minerals is of concern to many nations. This 

widespread concern has led to duplication of effort in the 

gathering of information on the world's major sources of 

strategic mineral materials. With the aim of pooling such 

information, a cooperative program named International 

Strategic Minerals Inventory (ISMI) was started in 1981 

by officials of the governments of the United States, 

Canada, and the Federal Republic of Germany. It was 
subsequently joined by the Republic of South Africa, 

Australia, and the United Kingdom. 

The objective of ISMI reports is to make publicly 

available, in convenient form, nonproprietary data and 

characteristics of major deposits of strategic mineral 

commodities for policy considerations in regard to shortterm, medium-term, and long-term world supply. This 

report provides a summary statement of the data compiled and an overview of the supply aspects of tin in a 

format designed to be of benefit to policy analysts and 

geologists. Knowledge of the geologic aspects of mineral resources is essential to discover and develop 

mineral deposits. However, technical, financial, and 

political decisions must be made and infrastructure must 

be constructed before ore can be mined and processed 

and the products transported to the consumer; the technical, financial, and political aspects of mineral-resource 

development are not specifically addressed in this report. 

This report addresses the primary stages in the supply 

process for tin and includes only peripheral considerations of tin demand. 

The term "strategic minerals" is imprecise. It 

generally refers to mineral ore and derivative products 

that come largely or entirely from foreign sources, that 

are difficult to replace, and that are important to a 

nation's economy, in particular to its defense industry. 

Usually, the term implies a nation's perception of 

vulnerability to supply disruptions and of a need to 

safeguard its industries from the repercussions of a loss 

of supplies. 

Because a mineral that is strategic to one country 

may not be strategic to another, no one list of strategic 

minerals can be prepared. The ISMI Working Group 

decided to commence with manganese, chromium, phosphate, and nickel studies. These studies plus studies of 

platinum-group metals, cobalt, titanium, graphite, and 

lithium have been published. Additional reports on tin 

(this report), tungsten, vanadium, and zirconium have 

been subsequently undertaken. 

The data in the ISMI tin inventory were collected 

from October 1986 to May 1988. The report was 

submitted for review and publication in April 1989. The 

information used was the best available among the 

countries' agencies that contributed to this report. Those 

agencies were the U.S. Department of the Interior's 

Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey; the Geological Survey of Canada and the Mineral Policy Sector 

of the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources; the Federal Institute for Geosciences and 

Natural Resources of the Federal Republic of Germany; 

the Geological Survey and the Minerals Bureau of the 

Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs of South 

2 

Africa; the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and 

Geophysics of the Australian Department of Primary 

Industries and Energy; and the British Geological Survey, a component of the Natural Environment Research 

Council. 

Deposits (or districts) are selected for the inventory 

on the basis of their present or expected future contribution to world supply. Records for all deposits compiled by ISMI participants meet this general "major 

deposit" criterion and are included in the inventory. 3 

The ISMI record collection and this report on tin 

have adopted the international classification system for 

mineral resources recommended by the United Nations 

(U.N.) Group of Experts on Definitions and Terminology for Mineral Resources (United Nations Economic 

and Social Council, 1979; Schanz, 1980). The terms, 

definitions, and resource categories of this system were 

established in 1979 to facilitate international exchange of 

mineral-resource data; the Group of Experts sought a 

system that would be compatible with the several systems already in use in several countries. Figure 1 shows 

the U.N. resource classification used here. This report 

focuses on category Rl, which covers reliable estimates 

of tonnages and grades of known deposits. The familiar 

term "reserves," which many would consider to be 

equivalent to rlE or R1E, has been interpreted inconsistently and thus has been deliberately avoided in the U.N. 

classification. It should be noted that generally, until a 

deposit has been extensively explored or mined, its size 

and grade are imperfectly defined. In many cases, 

deposit size will prove to be significantly larger, sometimes even several times larger, than was thought when 

the decision to mine was made. Experts having a sound 

knowledge of a deposit and its geologic setting might 

infer that the deposit extends beyond the bounds reliably 

established up to that time. Tonnage estimates for such 

inferred extensions fall into category R2. For major 

deposits, ISMI records show R2 estimates in the few 

cases for which they are readily available. Category R3, 

postulated but undiscovered resources, is not dealt with 

in this report. 

Mining recovery from an ore body depends on 

individual conditions and may vary considerably, typically in the range of 75 to 90 percent for underground 

metal mining; that is, 10 to 25 percent of the in-place 

resources cannot be extracted. Recovery from placer 

mining is usually higher than that for underground 

3 No information is provided on deposits that were once significant but 

whose resources are now considered to be depleted. 
R* 

IN SITU RESOURCEsQuantities of economic interest 

for the next few decades 

R1 R2 

KNOWN DEPOSITsReliable estimates 

EXTENSIONS OF KNOWN DEPOSITS 

AND NEWLY DISCOVERED DEPOSITsR3 

UNDISCOVERED DEPOSITsTentative estimates 

Preliminary estimates 

R1E R1M R1S R2E 

~ R2S 

Economically Marginally Subeconomic Economically Subeconomic 

exploitable economic exploitable 

*The capital "R" denotes resources in situ; a lower case "r'' expresses the corresponding recoverable resources for each category and 

subcategory. Thus, r1E is the recoverable equivalent of R1E. This report deals only with R1 and R2, not with R3. 

FIGURE 1. United Nations resource categories used in this report (modified from Schanz, 1980, p. 313). 

mining. Typically, placer mine recovery is above 90 

percent and may approach 100 percent of in-place 

resources. 

The World Bank economic classification of countries (World Bank, 1986, p. 180-181), which is based 

primarily on GNP (gross national product) per capita, 

has been used in this and other ISMI reports to illustrate 

distribution of resources and production according to 

economic groupings of countries. This classification was 

chosen because it relies primarily on objective economic 

criteria and does not contain political bloc labels that 

might not be perceived in the same manner by all 

countries. 

USES AND SUPPLY ASPECTS 

Tin is used almost exclusively as an intermediate 

input in the production of other products and metal 

alloys. It has a number of particularly useful physical 

properties that can significantly improve the production 

process and (or) alloys and other final products. Barry 

and Thwaites (1983, p.12-21) list many of the physical 

and chemical properties of tin . 

Tin and tin-based products are generally nontoxic, 

are corrosion resistant, and have a good appearance. 

Tin's excellent wetting ability makes it an ideal metal to 

3 

use as a coating of other metals. Tin alloys, generally 

tin-lead, tin-zinc, and tin-copper (bronze), offer properties depending on the alloy such as improved casting, 

greater hardness, and (or) a lower melting point than the 

single metal alone. In combination with aluminum, for 

example, tin offers important antifriction qualities desirable for engines and critical motor parts such as highfatigue-strength bearings (Barry and Thwaites, 1983, p. 

122-127, 151). Tin-based products are generally biodegradable and, when abandoned at the end of their useful 

life, will eventually oxidize and dissipate (Davis, 1985, 

p. 26-29). 

Tin's single largest use is in electroplating, called 

"tinplate," followed by solder manufacture. It is used 

most extensively in the food packaging, electronics, and 

chemical industries followed by transportation, machinery, and construction. Recent years, however, have seen 

a gradual reduction in tin use for manufacture of tin cans 

due to the increased availability of less expensive alternatives such as aluminum and plastics for food and 

beverage containers. In the United States, the use of tin 

in solder is almost double that of tinplate (fig. 2). 

Nevertheless, tinplate is still considered by far the best 

container coating for many food products, and further 

decreases in demand are likely to be modest given the 

small percentage represented by the cost of tin in the 
1986 

(metric tons of contained tin) 

Bar tin 449IW) -j=.:;~~::==:;::==c::!!II"- Tin powder 

White metal 

EXPLANATION 

D Primary production 

Total43,522 

110,198 secondary) 

Secondary production !figures in parentheses) 

W =withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data; included with "Other." 

N.r. =none reported 

Bronze 

and brass 

1965 

(metric tons of contained tin) 

Type metal 

1,321 Other 

Tinplate 

30,5471N.r.) 

T ota I 85,360 

125,870 secondary) 

FIGURE 2. United States' tin consumption by finished product in 1986 and 1965 (Carlin, 1987, p. 966; U.S. Bureau of Mines, 

1967, p. 327). 

overall food-processing expense. Demand is a function 

of the relative cost of tinplate to aluminum, with tinplate's principal cost being due to the cost of the steel, 

not the tin. 

Electronics, on the other hand, has seen a gradual 

increase in tin use as the world's demand for electronics 

products has increased and with it the demand for solder. 

While technological advances have succeeded in reducing the amount of solder needed per solder joint, the 

dramatic increase in the number of connections and the 

number of products that have electronic or computer 

components has ensured that tin's use in electronics will 

continue to grow for the foreseeable future. 

Tin forms a wide variety of chemical compounds, 

and the utilization of tin chemicals in the plastics, glass, 

and ceramic industries, and in biocidal applications (for 

example, wood preservation, pesticides, antifouling 

paints), has increased over the past few years to where 

tin chemicals now account for about 13 percent of tin 

consumption today (Evans, 1988). The largest single use 

of tin in chemicals is use as a stabilizer for polyvinyl 

chloride (PVC) in the plastics industry; the tin prevents 

4 

PVC from becoming yellow and brittle with prolonged 

exposure to sunlight or heat. 

Tin deposits are not distributed uniformly around 

the world. Currently, the principal tin-producing regions 

are in Southeast Asia and Brazil. Moreover, of the 14 

leading nonfuel minerals, tin has the greatest proportion 

of world production from low- and middle-income countries (Robertson, 1982, p. 2). As a result, the metal's 

principal consumers, industrial market economy countries, have been obliged to import the bulk of their tin. 

Unlike trade in other strategic metals, however, the 

relationship between tin-producing and -consuming 

nations has been gradually institutionalized in a series of 

international agreements made by consumers and producers whose stated purpose was to maintain price and 

supply stability in the world tin market. Until very 

recently, these agreements strongly influenced tin pricing on world markets. Moreover, they provided the 

vehicle for considerable political influence in the world 

tin trade. The most recent agreement ended in June 

1989, coincident with the demise of the International Tin 

Council. 
World tin supply has been influenced by several 

factors including ( 1) the International Tin Agreements 

(ITA's), (2) stockpiling of tin by the United States for 

strategic purposes, (3) disparate geographic and economic distribution of tin resources, (4) an increase in the 

number of government -owned and -operated mining and 

smelting concerns, (5) the Association of Tin Producing 

Countries, and (6) tin recycling. 

The International Tin Agreements.-The IT A's 

were established in reaction to the collapse in world tin 

prices, largely brought about by the Great Depression. 

The agreements were set up to control tin supplies and to 

stabilize tin prices through a system of governmentcontrolled quotas. As of 1989, there had been six 

agreements. ITA members came from two principal 

groups, producing and consuming nations, which collectively formed the International Tin Council (ITC). Most 

of the major producing and consuming countries were 

represented, but there were notable exceptions. The 

United States, the world's largest consumer, participated 

in only one agreement. Australia, Canada, and Great 

Britain, on the other hand, were party to all of the 

agreements, and West Germany participated since 1971 

(Baldwin, 1983, p. 74-102). Brazil, which in the 1980's 

increased production by more than 300 percent to 

become the largest producer, however, was never a 

member. Producing countries were categorized in two 

groups: high-cost "underground" extractors and lower 

cost "placer" extractors. Bolivia was long the principal 

underground-mining country, with Malaysia, Indonesia, 

Thailand, and later Brazil as the most important placermining countries. 

Early activities of ITC were most concerned with 

tin price and supply stability. However, the objectives of 

the organization gradually evolved to endorse activities 

that protected the incomes of the organizations' producers. To this end, tin purchases and sales were performed 

by the Buffer Stock Manager, whose function was to 

maintain a price floor through management of the buffer 

stock. As producing countries increased production in 

response to higher world prices, the ITC periodically 

imposed quotas to limit tin supply. This stimulated 

non-ITC producers to increase output to take advantage 

of artificially high prices. Export controls and the high 

price of tin further encouraged the smuggling of tin 

concentrates, particularly from Thailand. 

By the late 1970's, the early cooperation of ITC 

members gradually gave way to frequently sharp differences between producing and consuming members. Consuming nations felt the organization was drifting from its 

original purpose of supply and price stability, whereas 

producers argued that their incomes were being eroded 

5 

by inadequate tin prices and periodic sales by the United 

States from its strategic stockpile. 

Despite the ITC's measures to restrict output, a tin 

glut emerged in 1983-85, because consumption 

remained stagnant while new, non-ITC producers such 

as Brazil emerged as major tin suppliers. To counter this 

development, the ITC' s Buffer Stock Manager made 

large purchases of tin to support the price and to remove 

excess supplies. In October 1985, unable to finance 

further purchases, ITC buffer-stock activities ceased; the 

two main tin-trading markets, Kuala Lumpur and the 

London Metal Exchange, suspended tin trading, and the 

world price of tin collapsed to about half the previous 

level. 

When tin trading at the London Metal Exchange 

resumed in June 1989, there was an increasing demand 

for tin, and the price climbed about $2,000 a ton and 

touched peaks not seen since before the market collapsed 

in October 1985. However, in late 1990, tin prices have 

again weakened, and the market has been impossible to 

forecast with any certainty. 

The United States strategic tin stockpile.-In 

response to tin shortages during World War II, the 

United States stockpiled refined tin metal from approximately 1946 to 1953. Prior to the 1985 price collapse, 

tin comprised about 60 percent of the value of all 

commodities held for strategic purposes. Starting in the 

1960's, Congress periodically ordered gradual disposal 

of additional portions deemed excess to U.S. needs. In 

October 1988, the U.S. stockpile was about 173,000 

metric tons of tin. Approximately 136,000 metric tons 

are currently ( 1989) deemed excess and are marked for 

eventual sale on world markets. The United States 

planned to sell 7,500 metric tons of tin in fiscal years 

1990 and 1991, some 2,500 metric tons more than in 

1989 (Tin International, 1989b). 

Economic and geographic distribution of tin 

deposits. -Significant tin resources are found predominantly in Southeast Asia, Brazil, and China. The richest 

deposits are in Brazil, and together with deposits in 

Southeast Asia contain 75 percent of the world's demonstrated tin resources. Approximately 73 percent of tin 

production was consumed in industrial economy countries in 1980, but more than 85 percent was produced in 

low- and middle-income countries, with roughly 80 

percent coming from just four countries: Malaysia, 

Indonesia, Thailand, and Bolivia. While these percentages had shifted markedly by 1989, with Brazil becoming the world's largest tin producer, the economic and 

geographic distinction between source and use destination is still valid. 
Government-owned and -operated mzmng and 

smelting companies.-The past 3 decades have seen a 

significant increase in the number of state or government 

owned and operated mining concerns, particularly in 

low- and middle-income countries. About 44 percent of 

current Western production capacity is wholly or substantially state owned (Mining Journal, 1987, p. 18). 

This trend has had a deleterious effect on private 

investment in the tin-mining industry worldwide, as 

firms have feared poor treatment by foreign governments. The tin-smelting industry has also undergone 

significant ownership and location changes in recent 

years as national governments have asserted greater 

control over processing of mined tin. Influence of 

European interests has decreased, while local governmental interests have increased, as occurred, for example, in Indonesia. As a result, smelting-industry concentration has been reduced, and the control of mined ore, 

rather than the ability to process it, has become the 

critical factor in the production and processing. 

Association of Tin Producing Countries.-In 

1983, the Association of Tin Producing countries 

(ATPC) was formed to foster close cooperation among 

producing-member countries to maintain stable prices 

and to safeguard member's interests. The ATPC's role 

has grown steadily since the dissolution of production 

quotas and the demise of the lTC after the tin-market 

collapse in October 1985. Although not ATPC members, 

Brazil and China have the capability to upset any export 

control scheme of the A TPC because of their large 

production capabilities and low operating costs. Brazil, 

for example, increased its 1988 production to an amount 

greater than its assigned "quota" (Mining Journal, 

1989a). Current ATPC members include Australia, 

Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, and 

Zaire. 

Tin recycling.-In addition to tin mining, recycled 

or secondary tin represents an important source of tin 

particularly for the United States. While not useful for 

tinplate due to impurities, reprocessed tin can be substituted for primary tin in most uses. In times of strategic 

need, this capacity could be increased relatively quickly 

and on a relatively cost effective basis with current 

technology (Baldwin, 1983, p. 55). 

DISTRIBUTION OF TIN DEPOSITS 

Cassiterite (Sn02) contributes almost all the tin of 

industry, although in Bolivia small amounts are recov6 

ered from tin-sulfide minerals such as cylindrite 

(Pb3Sn4FeSb2S14), stannite (Cu2FeSnS4 ), and teallite 

(PbSnS2 ). The world map in figure 3 shows the locations 

of major tin deposits and districts. Some map locations 

represent only one mine or deposit, while others represent several sites where disaggregated data for individual 

mines or deposits were proprietary or not available. For 

example, data for Malaysian gravel pump mines were 

compiled as one aggregate record rather than as scores of 

records for individual operations. Also, map locations 

that represent more than one inventory record within a 

country or district grouping, such as Banka Island, 

Indonesia, have the number of records in parentheses. 

Locations of deposits in Malaysia and Thailand are 

included in figure 4, which shows the location of 

tin-bearing areas along the Southeast Asian Tin Belt. 

Taylor (1979, p. 7-9) described the following four 

geologic environments in which tin deposits are present: 

( 1) granitoids associated with layered igneous complexes 

of the Bushveld type, (2) anorogenic granitoids associated with fracturing-rifting of the stable cratons, (3) 

Precambrian shields excluding environments 1 and 2 

above, and (4) granitoids normally associated with 

post-Precambrian mobile zones and with periods of 

major orogeny (postorogenic emplacement within fold 

belts). The latter environment is the most important 

economically. The geologic ages of the world's tin 

provinces are believed to cluster around past major 

orogenic events (Taylor, 1979, p. 11), with the JurassicCretaceous Kimmeridgian orogeny in Europe being a 

major tin-producing event. 

Major tin deposits and districts in this report are 

generally of two distinctly different geologic deposit 

types: lodes and placers. Figure 3 shows 39 locations of 

lode deposits and 17 locations of placer deposits and the 

size of the deposits according to the amount of tin 

contained in the reported identified economic resources 

(R1E). There are six very large (greater than 500,000 

metric tons of contained tin in reported R 1 E) deposits or 

groups of deposits. Another 13 large (greater than 

100,000 metric tons of contained tin reported in R1E) 

deposits or groups of deposits, 13 medium-size deposits 

(greater than 10,000 metric tons and less than 100,000 

metric tons of contained tin in reported R1E), 9 smallsize deposits (less than 10,000 metric tons of contained 

tin in reported R1E), and 15 deposits with no reported 

R1E are included in the inventory. Table 1 lists the 

geologic deposit types and their subdivisions. 

The following summaries include the most common tin deposit types-in terms of production, conditions of formation, petrology, and mineral association. 
....., 

60° 

40° 

20° 

oo 

20° 

40° 

160° 

·-o 

80° 

p- 9 

i. ------ ------ --- --~--~ 

UNITED Sli TES, if~ 

Lost Rive 

PERU 

San Rafael 

BOLIVIA 

Dredges ~ 

Northern region -----~ 

Central region -

Southern region 

ARGENTINA 

Pirquitas 

MERCATOR PROJECTION 

0' 0' LATITUDE 70' 70' 

1000 ~uu 500 1000 KILOMETERS ,., 

Base from Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und RohstO?re~ 

Bounpary apd naf11eS eprese~tat ion , not ~ecessprily a~t itptive . 1 

Symbol 

Iii 

D 

• 

RlE (metric tons) 

>500,000 

100,000 - 500,000 

10,000- 100,000 

Lode 

Symbol 

• 

0 

40° oo 

Pitinga 

Rhodia-Espeng 

Best Group 

Brascan Group 

Brazilian 

prospects 

Brumadinho 

C-75 Garimpo 

NAMIBIA 

40° 

Union mine 

Rooiberg 

Zaaiplaats 

Van Rooi's Vley 

L__ Kuils River 

"' 

80° 

Renison I 

120° 

EXPLANATION 

Geologic deposit type Placer 

RlE (metric tons) 

< 10,000 

Unreported 

Symbol 

® 

0 

• 

RlE (metric tons) 

>500,000 

100,000 - 500,000 

10,000 - 100,000 

Symbol 

• 

0 

160° 

·~ --· 

MALAYSIA 

Gravel pumps® 

' 0 

. 

of; 

RlE (metric tons) 

< 10,000 

Unreported 

FIGURE 3. Location, deposit type, and estimated resources of major tin deposits and districts in the world. Numbers in parentheses indicate number of records (deposits and 

districts) for each location. Location names are from the tables in Part II. 
100° 

BURMA 

10' 

8 

110' 

BORNEO 

EXPLANATION II Tin-bearing fields of the 

Southeast Asian Tin Belt 

0 500 1,000 

KILOMETERS 
TABLE 1.-Geologic deposit types represented by deposits in 

the ISM! tin inventory 

[Number of records is in parentheses] 

Geologic deposit Subclassifications 1 

Lode (39) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pneumatolytic-hydrothermal (21) 

Replacement, including skarn (8) 

Subvolcanic (4) 

Pegmatite (5) 

Massive sulfide (1) 

Placer (17) ................... Dredge, marine (3) 

Dredge, onshore (4) 

Gravel pump (10) 

1 Lode deposits are subdivided by geologic criteria, while placer deposits 

are subdivided by mining method. There are no examples of rhyolite-hosted 

deposits in the ISMI tin inventory. 

Lode deposits 

Pneumatolytic-hydrothermal deposits. -These deposits include lodes of the Cornwall type, greisen veins, 

massive greisenized granite, plutonic breccia and porphyry systems, stockworks and sheeted veins, and 

quartz-cassiterite-sulfide veins (Sainsbury and Reed, 

1973; Taylor, 1979; and Hosking, 1974). They represent 

the major part of the world's lode tin deposits. Lodes 

generally occur within or near the apical parts (cupolas 

or cusps) of biotite or biotite-muscovite granite and 

typically are mineralogically complex fissure fillings or 

greisen veins in diverse types of country rock. Economically viable massive greisen deposits contain 5 to 50 

million metric tons of ore at grades ranging between 0. 1 

and 0.4 percent tin (Menzie and Reed, 1986a). 

Replacement (including skarn) deposits.-Replacement and skarn deposits are characteristically associated with igneous contacts. Prime requirements for 

development of carbonate replacement tin deposits 

include the presence of carbonate-rich units, an evolved 

(specialized) tin granite, and a well-developed brittle 

fracture system. If carbonate rocks are on the order of 

300 m or less from the granite, skarn is more likely to 

form; at distances greater than 300 m, replacement 

deposits may develop in the carbonate rocks. Carbonate 

replacement deposits consist chiefly of cassiterite and 

sulfide minerals and contain 2 to 50 million metric tons 

of ore at grades ranging between 0. 5 and 1 percent tin 

(Menzie and Reed, 1986b). Tin minerals in skarn deposits are erratically distributed, and much of the tin is 

present in silicate minerals that are not amenable to 

normal recovery methods. In the Lost River area 

Alaska, tin is a potential byproduct of beryllium and 

..,... FIGURE 4. Tin-bearing areas in Southeast Asia (after Bleiwas 

and others, 1986, p. 18). Location names are from the 

tables in Part II. 

9 

fluorite production from replacement veins and skarn 

deposits (Sainsbury, 1964, 1969). At Renison, Tasmania, one of the world's largest underground tin mines, 

the main deposits are quartz-cassiterite-sulfide replacement lodes in carbonate strata (Patterson and others, 

1981). 

Subvolcanic deposits.-Traditionally, this category (also called "telescoped" or xenothermal deposits 

(Hosking, 1974)) is typified by the rich tin-silver veins 

of southern Bolivia. The deposits occur in very high 

level stocks beneath or within vents of volcanoes. The 

veins contain, in addition to cassiterite, abundant sulfosalt and sulfide minerals containing silver, arsenic, 

bismuth, lead, and zinc. The presence of these rare tin 

minerals makes recovery of tin difficult. Individual 

Bolivian mines have produced more than 500,000 metric 

tons of tin; the associated classic "porphyry" tin deposits 

(Sillitoe and others, 1975), although exceedingly large 

(in excess of 100 million metric tons), contain only 0.1 

to 0. 3 percent tin and are not now economic producers. 

It should be noted that some tin lodes in high-level 

stocks, pipes, or breccia systems that did not vent are 

also referred to as "porphyry" tin deposits. 

Pegmatite deposits.-Most tin-bearing pegmatites 

occur in Precambrian shield terrains (the smaller Mesozoic pegmatites in Thailand are an exception), where 

cassiterite is recovered along with co-product columbite, 

tantalite, beryl, spodumene, and wolframite. The most 

productive pegmatites occur in areas of deep tropical 

weathering (central and southern Africa, Western Australia), which contributes to lower mining costs. Worldwide, tin production from pegmatites is minor. 

Rhyolite-hosted deposits (Mexican type). - Deposits of this type consist of discontinuous fracture fillings 

of cassiterite and wood tin (a colloform variety of 

cassiterite), along with specular hematite and chalcedony, near the margins of Tertiary alkali-feldspar rhyolite 

flow domes and as disseminated cassiterite in volcanic 

breccia (Reed and others, 1986). No deposits of this type 

are included in the ISMI tin inventory. Grades are 

generally erratic and quite low. Most deposits contain 

between 230 and 3, 900 metric tons of ore at grades 

between 0.14 and 1.04 percent tin (Singer and Mosier, 

1986). Production of tin from these deposits is generally 

limited to small placer operations that may have produced a few tens of metric tons of tin each. Many 

rhyolite-hosted tin deposits lie in the mid-Tertiary volcanic province of the Sierra Madre Occidental located in 

central and northern Mexico. A few deposits are present 

in the Western United States, such as those in New 

Mexico's Black Range. 
Massive sulfide deposits. -Fine-grained cassiterite may be present in massive base metal sulfide deposits 

mined for copper, zinc, and lead. Deposits of this type 

can be assigned to two major groups: exhalative volcanogenic, hosted primarily in volcanic rocks, and exhalative sedimentary, hosted in sedimentary rocks 

(Hutchinson, 1981). These deposits form by chemical 

precipitation of metalliferous hydrothermal brines discharged from fumarolic vents on sea floors. Because the 

average tin content of massive sulfide deposits is generally less than 0.1 percent, they are, worldwide, minor tin 

producers. In some deposits, however, tin is present in 

amounts sufficient to be recovered as a byproduct. For 

many years the famous zinc-lead-silver exhalative sedimentary massive sulfide body at Sullivan, British 

Columbia, produced tin as a byproduct. Recently, the 

Neves-Corvo volcanogenic massive sulfide copper 

deposit in the Iberian pyrite belt of Portugal is reported to 

contain a 2.8-million-metric-ton ore body that has the 

exceptionally high grade of 2.6 percent tin (Mining 

Journal, 1988b; Carvalho, 1988). Tin will be produced 

as a byproduct of copper mining. If the planned production of 5,000 metric tons of tin per year is achieved, it 

will make Neves-Corvo the largest tin producer in 

Europe. 

Placer deposits 

Because cassiterite is both heavy and chemically 

stable in the surficial environment, it is commonly 

concentrated in placers-deposits that form over or near 

bedrock source areas where weathering and erosional 

processes remove lighter rock materials and gravity 

assists in concentrating heavy minerals. Tin placers 

locally contain recoverable amounts of other heavy 

minerals, such as columbite-tantalite, wolframite, ilmenite, monazite, zircon, and xenotime. Alluvial placers are 

the largest and richest placers. They occupy both modern 

and ancient stream beds, and in Southeast Asia many 

alluvial placers now lie beneath seawater and are mined 

by seagoing dredges. Exceedingly low-grade placer 

deposits having a grade of less than 0.01 percent tin can 

be mined economically by dredging. Placers are classed 

as residual, eluvial (slope), or alluvial (stream) or as 

marine and fossil placers (Sainsbury and Reed, 1973). 

Residual placers form in place by the chemical 

decay and removal of the rock minerals from a bedrock 

cassiterite source. Residual placers may grade downward 

into weathered lodes where they are mined either as 

placers or as open-pit lodes. 

Eluvial placers are formed by the chemical decay 

of tin-bearing rocks and the gravity separation of cassit10 

erite and other heavy minerals as the decayed mantle 

moves downslope under the influence of sheetwash, 

gravity, and frost action. Such placers grade imperceptibly into residual placers upslope and into alluvial 

(stream) placers downslope. 

Alluvial placers furnish most of the world's tin. 

For many years, more than half the world's tin production came from alluvial placers in Southeast Asia. More 

recently, exceptionally rich alluvial placers are being 

developed in Brazil. Alluvial placers occupy both modem and fossil stream beds, and the distribution of 

cassiterite is dependent upon the location of the source 

areas and the hydraulics of running water. The highest 

grade placers are formed near lodes along sections of 

stream where the velocity is high enough to result in 

good gravity separation but not so high that the channel 

is swept clean. 

Marine placers form where a marine shoreline 

intersects or transgresses either a stream valley containing alluvial cassiterite or a bedrock source of tin. Beach 

placers commonly have a large length-to-width ratio, but 

a placer of transgressive origin may consist of a sheet of 

heavy minerals buried beneath marine sediments. The 

largest marine placers occur off Bangka and Billiton 

(Belitung) Islands (Indonesia) and along the coasts of 

Thailand and Burma. 

Any of the above types of placers may become 

fossil placers as a result of burial beneath subsequently 

deposited sediments or lava. Uplift and renewed erosion 

along disrupted drainages may expose fossil placers, and 

second-cycle alluvial placers may form, as has occurred 

in Nigeria. 

Information for placer deposits in the ISMI tin 

inventory is grouped by the three methods used in their 

mining: onshore and marine dredges and gravel pumps 

(table 1). Deposits at Jos Plateau in Nigeria are mined by 

use of gravel pumps and open-pit methods. 

Onshore and marine dredges. -Dredges are selfcontained, floating, excavating machines and concentrators that have been used to recover placer tin and other 

mineral commodities since the turn of the century. The 

most common type of dredge is the bucket -line dredge 

(fig. 5) consisting of a series of buckets on a chain 

connected to a ladder-type structure that positions the 

buckets and controls excavation. Dredges are capital 

intensive, requiring a multimillion dollar investment 

before mining can commence. The mining capacity of 

the dredge depends on the size and speed of the buckets. 

Dredges remove overburden and ore and may operate 

either onshore or offshore. In 1980, offshore dredges 

accounted for 12.3 percent of world tin production and 

onshore dredges 7.3 percent (Robertson, 1982, p. 18). 
MINING ADVANCE 

FIGURE 5. Typical bucket-line dredge and outboard concentrating plant (from Bleiwas and others, 1986). 

For onshor~ dredges, removal of material ahead of 

the dredge produces a pond on which the dredge can 

advance. The larger dredges can excavate to a maximum 

depth of about 45 m. In the 1950's, Malaysian onshore 

dredges accounted for over one-half of production; that 

figure dropped to one-third in the 1960's. At the end of 

1981, there were 60 onshore dredges operating in Malaysia; by mid-1986, however, the number had dropped to 

31 (American Metal Market, 1987, p. 177). 

Offshore (marine) dredges are designed to allow 

for the effect of wave action on the bucket ladder and 

have been operating since the first dredge was introduced 

offshore from Thailand in 1907 (Robertson, 1982, p. 

17). Weather conditions, currents, and wave action in 

the open sea may reduce the efficiency of marine dredges 

and raise operating costs. The largest offshore dredges 

have a bucket capacity of about 30 fe (0.85 m3

) and 

operate at depths up to about 60 m in relatively calm 

waters close to shore. 

Bleiwas and others (1986, p. 33) showed dredging 

to be the lowest cost method of mining and beneficiating 

tin ore with an average of $0.70 per metric ton of 

dredged ore, although costs vary among operations 

11 

because of the characteristics of the ore body and 

overburden. Malaysian dredges were the most cost 

efficient, with an average operating cost of $0.50 per 

metric ton of ore. At Brazil's rich Pitinga deposit, where 

19 onshore dredges are currently operating, mining costs 

were less than $3 per cubic meter, or about $1.90 per 

metric ton (Thorman and Drew, 1988). Offshore dredges 

are slightly more costly to operate than onshore dredges 

and are susceptible to delays due to weather conditions at 

the dredgesite. Because of the large initial investment 

needed to start a dredging operation, use of the dredges 

in low- and middle-income countries is justified only for 

large deposits. 

Gravel pumps. -Gravel-pump mining is a lowcapital method for concentrating cassiterite from placer 

deposits not amenable to dredging. In Malaysia, for 

example, gravel pump mines typically rework tailings or 

pockets of gravel in previously mined areas. Gravel 

pumps are versatile and handle combinations of mud, 

sand, and coarse gravel and quickly adjust to variations 

in slurry concentration. Advantages of gravel-pump 

mining over dredging include (1) topography is relatively unimportant to gravel pumps, and they are espe-
Treatment plant 

(palongs) 

MINING ADVANCE. 

Monitor 

Dry stripping 

operations 

FIGURE 6. Typical gravel-pump operation (from Bleiwas and others, 1986). 

cially effective for working in areas of large boulders or 

irregular topography (for example, limestone pinnacles 

in Malaysia); (2) a deposit can be selectively mined; (3) 

complete extraction of the cassiterite-bearing gravels is 

generally possible; and ( 4) the same equipment can mine 

at various depths. 

Gravel pumps consist of three basic components 

(fig. 6), a monitor or high-pressure nozzle, a pumping 

station, and a concentrating section. The monitor directs 

high-pressure water to erode exposed tin-bearing surfaces. The resulting slurry is channeled to the pumping 

station where most undesirable materials, such as clay, 

boulders, and wood, are removed. The remaining material is pumped to the concentrating section, which 

removes the cassiterite and other heavy minerals, such as 

apatite, monazite, rutile, and zircon, from the waste. As 

of 1980, gravel pumps provided 28.5 percent of the 

world's tin (Robertson, 1982, p. 18). At the end of 1978, 

there were 833 gravel pumps in operation in Malaysia; 

that number had declined to 116 by mid-1986 (American 

Metal Market, 1987, p. 177). Gravel pumps had an 

average mining and beneficiation cost of about $1.10 per 

metric ton of ore-ranging from $0.90 per metric ton for 

low-grade Malaysian ore to $4.70 for high-grade ore in 

Australia, Bolivia, Burma, and Zaire (Bleiwas and 

others, 1986). Although costs vary widely, in the Southeast Asian Tin Belt about 50 percent of the cost of gravel 

pump mining goes for power and labor (Robertson, 

1982, p. 28). 

12 

Open pits and other methods. -Some alluvial 

deposits and deeply weathered lodes (referred to as 

"softies") are worked with mechanized shovels, drag 

lines, excavators, or by manual labor. Subsequent processing of the ore is generally by gravel pump methods. 

Open-cast mines in Australia, Nigeria, and Zaire are 

large, and the residual placers of Jos Plateau, Nigeria, 

are worked as large open pits. Large hard-rock open-pit 

tin mines, common in other sectors of the mining 

industry, are relatively rare. The low-grade massive 

greisen deposit at East Kemptville, Nova Scotia, the 

only primary tin-producing mine in North America, is a 

hard-rock open-pit operation having a planned annual 

production of 4, 700 metric tons of tin-in-concentrate 

(Moyle, 1984). 

Tin is also recovered by dulang washing, which is 

simply panning mine tailings for cassiterite not recovered by previous mining. While individual dulang washing operations are very small, collectively they account 

for about 5 percent of Malaysian output and 2 to 3 

percent of Thailand's output (Robertson, 1982, p. 20). 

Figure 7 shows the global distribution of major tin 

deposits and districts and indicates economic class (GNP 

per capita) of countries where major tin deposits are 

located. 

TIN RESOURCES 

A summary of the R1E resources of countries 

having major tin deposits and districts in the ISMI tin 
-

w 

160° 80° 

60° 

40° -

'--- Lost River 

20° ·~, 

PERU 

oo San Rafael 

BOLIVIA 

Dredges 

20° ~- Northern region 

Central region 

Southern region 

ARGENTINA 

40° 1- Pirq 

MERCATOR PROJECTION 

0' 0' LATITUDE 70' 70' 

1000 500 0 500 1000 KILOMETERS 

40° oo 

Pitinga 

Rhodia-Espeng 

Best Group 

Brascan Group 

Brazilian 

prospects 

Brumadinho 

C-75 Garimpo 

40° 

Kelapa Kampit 

AUSTRALIA 

Union mine 

Zaaiplaats 

Rooiberg "' 

120° 

Base from Bundesanstalt tor Geowissenschaften und RohstOtre~ 

Bounpary a~d nafT'eS represe11tation1 not ~ecess~nly a~thori~tive. 1 

, NAMIBIA Van Rooi's Vley 

Kuils River 

EXPLANATION 

~ Low-income economies ~ Industrial market economies 

11111111111111111111111/1 Lower middle-income economies E~=-::::2=-===-=-~ East European nonmarket economies 

I:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;::J Upper middle-income economies 

160° 

-~· 

.. Q 

""' 

) 

FIGURE 7. Economic classification of the World Bank (1986, p. 180--181), based principally on gross national product per capita, for countries where the world's major tin 

deposits and districts occur. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of records (deposits and districts) for each location. Location names are from the tables in 

Part n. 
TABLE 2. -Known economic tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts, by country, deposit type, and mining method 

[Includes only countries having major tin deposits in the International Strategic Minerals Inventory. See figure 3. Figures are based on data 

reported in table 10 of Part II and are in thousand metric tons. Figures may not add to totals shown due to rounding. N .r. =None reported] 

Deposit type Mining method 

Rank Country Economic Number of Resources Placer Lode 

class1 records Gravel Surface and R1E2 Percent pump Dredge Surface Underground underground 

1 ....... China L 2 1,562.5 20.25 N.r. N.r. 1,562.5 N.r. 1,562.5 N.r. 

2 ....... Malaysia UM 3 1,207.6 15.65 900.0 300.0 7.6 1,200.0 7.6 N.r. 

3 ....... Brazil UM 7 3

1,195.5 15.49 134.6 1,060.9 N.r. 1,195.5 N.r. N.r. 

4 ....... Thailand LM 3 938.4 12.16 244.6 620.1 73.7 864.7 73.7 N.r. 

5 ....... Indonesia LM 4 821.3 10.64 271.8 526.3 23.2 798.1 23.2 N.r. 

6 ....... Zaire L 1 510.0 6.61 N.r. N.r. 510.0 510.0 N.r. N.r. 

7 ....... Bolivia LM 4 453.7 5.88 N.r. 12.8 440.9 12.8 440.9 N.r. 

8 ....... Soviet Union E 2 300.0 3.89 N.r. N.r. 300.0 150.0 150.0 N.r. 

9 ....... Australia I 9 207.8 2.69 N.r. N.r. 207.8 3.6 204.2 N.r. 

10 ....... Namibia LM 1 120.8 1.57 N.r. N.r. 120.8 120.8 N.r. N.r. 

11 ....... Nigeria LM 1 110.8 1.44 110.8 N.r. N.r. 110.8 N.r. N.r. 

12 ....... Canada I 2 92.4 1.20 N.r. N.r. 92.4 92.4 N.r. N.r. 

13 ....... Portugal UM 1 72.8 .94 N.r. N.r. 72.8 N.r. 72.8 N.r. 

14 ....... Japan I 2 41.7 .54 N.r. N.r. 41.7 N.r. 41.7 N.r. 

15 ....... Zimbabwe LM 1 31.7 .41 N.r. N.r. 31.7 N.r. N.r . 31.7 

16 ....... South Africa UM 5 24.2 . 31 N.r . N.r. 24.2 N.r. N.r. 24.2 

17 ....... Peru LM 1 22.5 .29 N.r. N.r. 22.5 N.r. 22.5 N.r. 

18 ....... United States I 1 2.4 . 03 N.r . N.r. 2.4 N.r. 2.4 N.r. 

19 ....... Burma L 2 .4 .01 N.r. N.r. .4 N.r. .4 N.r. 

20 ....... Argentina UM 1 N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. 

21 ....... United Kingdom I 3 N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. N.r. 

Total 56 7,716.6 100.00 1,661.8 2,520.1 3,534.7 5,058.7 2,602.0 55.9 

1 Based primarily on GNP per capita and, in some cases, other distinguishing economic characteristics (World Bank, 1986, p. 180-181). Countries where major 

tin deposits or districts occur are, by class: L=low-income economies-Burma, China, and Zaire; LM=lower middle-income economies-Bolivia, Indonesia, 

Namibia, Nigeria, Peru, Thailand, and Zimbabwe; UM=upper middle-income economies-Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, Portugal, and South Africa; I=industrial 

market economies-Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; E=eastem European nonmarket economies-the Soviet Union. A sixth 

economic class, high-income oil exporters, is not listed because those countries do not have identified major tin deposits. 2 Reliable estimates from identified deposits having economically exploitable resources (fig. 1). 3 A recent report (Kashida and others, 1990, p. 900) estimates Barzil's tin "reserves" to be 4 million metric tons. 

inventory is presented in table 2, where the resources are 

shown according to deposit type and mining method. 

China has the largest tin R1E resources, all of which are 

in lode deposits and mined from underground. In the 

next four countries having the largest resources (Malaysia, Brazil, Thailand, and Indonesia), tin is chiefly in 

placer deposits that are mined by gravel pumps or 

dredges. Of the more than 7.5 million metric tons of 

reported tin R1E resources, about 65 percent is mined 

from the surface and 35 percent from underground. 

Table 3 shows the resources of major tin deposits 

and districts according to geologic deposit type. 

Although placer deposits account for 54.0 percent of 

reported known economic resources (R1E), lode deposits make up about 87 percent of the reported resources in 

other categories. 

Tin deposits or districts represented by the six very 

large size (greater than 500,000 metric tons) symbols in 

figure 3 account for almost 60 percent of the R1E 

resources and over 5 percent of the reported resources 

other than R1E. The 13 deposits or districts represented 

14 

TABLE 3.-Tin resources in the world's major deposits and 

districts, by geologic deposit type and resource category 

[Figures are in metric tons of contained tin; figures in parentheses are 

percent of column totals. Figures may not add to totals shown due to 

rounding] 

Geologic Number of Resource category 

deposit records type! R1E2 All other Rl and R23 

Lode ........... 39 3,535,000 (45.8) 1,284,000 (87.1) 

Placer .......... 17 4,182,000 (54.2) 189,800 (12.9) 

Total. .... 56 7,717,000 (100) 1,473,000 (100) 

1 Deposit types of the world's major tin deposits are shown in figure 3. 

Subclassifications of deposit types are listed in table 1. 2 Reliable estimates from identified deposits having economically exploitable resources (fig. 1). 3 That is, resources in the RIM, RlS, R2E, and R2S (fig. 1). 

by the 12 large-size (100,000 to 500,000 metric tons) 

symbols in figure 3 account for over 32 percent of the 

R1E resources and over 39 percent of the reported 

resources other than R1E. Deposits represented by the 13 

medium-size (10,000 to 100,000 metric tons) symbols 

account for over 7 percent of R1E and 21 percent of 
TABLE 4. -Tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts, by economic class of country 

and resource category 

[Figures are in metric tons of contained tin; figures in parentheses are percent of column totals. Figures may not 

add to totals shown due to rounding. N .r. =none reported] 

Number Resource category2 

Economic 

class 1 of 

records RIB All other Rl and R2 

Low-income .......................... 5 2,073,000 (26.9) 70,000 (4.8) 

Lower middle-income .................. 15 2,499,000 (32.4) 590,300 (40.0) 

Upper middle-income .................. 17 2,500,000 (32.4) 238,300 (16.2) 

Industrial market ...................... 17 344,300 (4.5) 574,900 (39.0) 

Eastern European nonmarket ............ 2 300,000 (3.9) N.r. 

Total ............................ 56 7,717,000 (100) 1,473,000 (100) 

1 Based principally on GNP per capita and, in some instances, other distinguishing economic characteristics (World 

Bank, 1986, p. 180-181). Countries where major tin deposits or districts occur are, by class: low-income economies-- Burma, 

China, Zaire; lower middle-income economies-Bolivia, Indonesia, Namibia, Nigeria, Peru, Thailand, Zimbabwe; upper 

middle-income economies-Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, Portugal, South Africa; industrial market economies-Australia, 

Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States; and eastern European nonmarket economies-the Soviet Union. A sixth 

economic class, high-income oil exporters, is not listed because those countries do not have identified major tin deposits. 2 Categories are defined in figure 1. 

other resources, and deposits represented by the 9 smallsize (less than 10,000 metric tons) symbols account for 

less than 1 percent of R 1 E resources and 4 percent of 

resources in other categories. The 15 deposits having no 

reported R1E resources include 12 deposits that report 

more than 29 percent of resources other than R1E. 

Table 4 shows the distribution of resources (metric 

tons of contained tin) of major tin deposits among the 

World Bank country economic classes from figure 7. 

Low-income economy countries have five deposits and 

26.9 percent of R1E resources. Of these five deposits, 

three (Dachang, Gejiu, and Kivu) are in the very large 

size category. Countries in this class have only 4.8 

percent of resources in other categories. Upper and lower 

middle-income economy countries rank first and second, 

respectively, in tin R1E resources. These two middleincome classes contain 32 of the deposits or districts (3 

of which are very large size) in the inventory and account 

for 64.8 percent of R1E resources and 56.2 percent of 

the other resources. Most of these resources are in placer 

deposits in the Southeast Asian Tin Belt (fig. 4) and in 

Brazil. Industrial market economy countries contain 17 

deposits or districts but have less than 5 percent of the 

R1E resources and about 39 percent of the resources in 

other categories. Australia's Renison mine, a large-size 

deposit, and Canada's East Kemptville mine and the 

Akenobe mine in Japan, both medium-size deposits, 

contain the majority of the R1E tin resources in the 

industrial market economy class. Deposits in Australia 

and the United Kingdom are the source of most of the 

resources other than R1E. The eastern European nonmarket economy countries (consisting of only two tin15 

bearing regions in the Soviet Union) have about 4 

percent of reported R1E resources and no reported 

resources in other categories. The 300,000-metric-ton 

figure (Carlin, 1989) for the Soviet Union is suspect, as 

this country produced an estimated 112,500 metric tons 

of tin between 1982 and 1986, and annual production for 

1987-88 is about 24,500 metric tons per year. 

Many countries that consume tin do not have major 

tin deposits or districts. For this reason, there is significant international trade in tin. On the basis of information from the British Geological Survey ( 1985), it is 

estimated that about 80 percent of the tin produced in 

1983 was traded that year as concentrate, unwrought tin 

and alloy, or scrap. When tin re-exports from countries 

not having mine production in 1983 are included, the 

amount of tin traded internationally exceeded mine 

production in that year by 25 percent. 

The addition to world tin resources in major 

deposits by discovery of new deposits is shown in figure 

8. Dates of discovery are not always reliable, but about 

one-third of current tin R1E resources are in deposits 

such as Dachang and Gejiu in China, which were 

discovered about 2 ,000 years ago, and some of the 

deposits in the Southeast Asian Tin Belt, which were 

discovered prior to 1860. 

Deposits discovered in the 1900-19 period (fig. 8) 

have another third of R1E resources and include the very 

large size Malaysian, Thai, and Indonesian dredges and 

the large Malaysian gravel pump mines; Uis tin in 

Namibia; and deposits of Jos Plateau, Nigeria. Mediumsize deposits, such as the Akenobe mine in Japan, also 

were discovered during this period. 
3.5 

3.0 

Cl) 2.5 Zz 

0-

1-1-

c...JCl 

- LU 2.0 

a:::z I-_ 

LU<( 

~IzZ 1.5 

00 _u 

....Ju_ 

:::!a 

~ 1.0 

.5 

0 

To 1859 1860-79 1880-99 1900-19 1920-39 1940-59 1960-79 After1979 Unreported 

YEAR OF DISCOVERY 

EXPLANATION 

R1 E-Reliable estimates from identified 

deposits with economically exploitable 

resources (see fig. 1) 

Other resource categories-Includes 

resources in the R1M, R1S, R2E, 

and R2S categories (see fig. 1) 

FIGURE 8. Tin resources in the world's major deposits and districts according to their date of discovery. If the year of discovery 

was not reported, year of first production was used instead. Years of discovery are listed in table 10 of Part II. 

The discovery of the large-size Pitinga deposit and 

the medium-size C-75 Garimpo deposit, both in Brazil, 

makes the deposits discovered after 1979 the third largest 

amount of RlE resources with almost 15 percent. In 

1986, the reserves at Pitinga were estimated at "575,000 

tonnes of high-grade ore sufficient for 30 years production at a rate of 20,000 tonnes of tin per year" (Tin 

International, 1986, p. 270). (Note, table 10 indicates 

500,000 tonnes of RlE, about 17 percent below the Tin 

International information.) In this report, we estimate the 

RlE resources at Pitinga at 1 million metric tons (L. J. 

Drew, oral comrnun., 1988). More recently, reports of a 

new tin deposit, possibly even larger than the Pitinga 

deposit (Mining Journal, 1988a; Tin International, 

1989a) suggests that Brazilian tin resources will continue 

to have considerable impact on the world's tin market for 

the next several years. 

Conclusions drawn from figure 8 should take into 

account (1) the uncertainty of discovery dates due to 

difficulties in defining "discovery," (2) the limited validity of assuming all of the deposit's (or district's) resources to the initial discovery date, as is done in this figure, 

16 

and (3) the different standards used to report resource 

data from different deposits. Also, there is uncertainty 

concerning the amount of resources contained in discoveries made since about 1960 as a result of incomplete 

information about recently discovered deposits and of 

the time lag in reporting information about new discoveries. 

TIN PRODUCTION 

The 56 tin deposits and districts in the International 

Strategic Minerals Inventory occur in 21 countries (fig. 

9); these countries have collectively accounted for most 

of the world's tin production since the mid-19th century. 

The data plotted in figure 9 include a small indeterminable amount of tin from mines not in the inventory. 

Figure 10 shows the production of tin from each of 

the countries indicated in figure 9. From 1970 to 1987, 

countries such as Malaysia, Bolivia, and Zaire, which 

were major tin producers between 1940 and 1960, 

generally reduced their output; while countries having 

less significant output between 1940 and 1960, such as 
100 a Australia 

90 Bolivia 

z 

0 

i= 

80 

§5 70 

0 

0 

II: 

a.. 

~ 60 1-

0 

...J 

II: 

0 

3: 50 LL 

0 

1-

z 

~ 40 

II: 

w 

a.. 

30 

20 

10 

0 

1940 1950 1960 1970 

YEAR 

1980 1987 

[[[] Brazil 

ioool Burma 

[J] China 

[] Indonesia 

D Malaysia 

Q Nigeria 

D 

Peru 

Soviet Union 

Thailand 

United Kingdom 

Zaire 

Argentina, Canada, Japan, Namibia 

Portugal, South Africa, the United 

States, Zimbabwe, and other countries 

(above) with major tin deposits and 

districts that had less than 2 

percent of world tin production 

during indicated year. 

Countries that produce tin but that 

do not have deposits listed in the 

ISMI tin inventory. 

FIGURE 9. Proportions of total world mine production of tin accounted for by countries having major deposits and districts in the 

ISMI tin inventory, selected years 1940-87. Reported production (U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1943-87) for countries is listed in 

table 5. 

the Soviet Union, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa, 

increased production. 

To better illustrate these trends, tin production 

from 1980 to 1987 for several of the rna jor producers is 

shown in figure 11. In this figure, the reduction in 

production from Malaysia and Bolivia and the ascent of 

Brazil to the role of second-leading producer in 1987 are 

evident. 

Information on 1987 production and cumulative 

production from 1934 to 1987 for countries having tin 

production is shown in table 5. The production data have 

17 

been grouped by World Bank economic class in table 6. 

About 66 percent of 1987 production and threequarters of cumulative production since 1934 took place 

in middle-income countries (principally Malaysia, Indonesia, Bolivia, Brazil, and Thailand). Industrial market 

and eastern European nonmarket economy countries 

accounted for only 9.4 percent and 14.1 percent of 

production, respectively, in 1987. For the period 1934 to 

1987, tin-producing countries in these economic classes 

accounted for about 10 percent of the total cumulative 

production. Low-income countries produced about 10.5 
... 

= 

THOUSAND METRIC TONS OF TIN THOUSAND METRIC TONS OF TIN 

0 20 40 60 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 

40 t N.r.1 I I -rrp·rT TTTlTTJITTIJI'' 'I 'ITT N.r. 

50 * 

60 * 

70 * 

80 

J!I 

1940 

50 

* il 

60 

~ 

70 

80 a: 

<( H 

Canada 

17,530 

China 

I 827,500 

I 

Peru 

27,640 

* Soviet Union 

469,000 

Thailand 

849,500 

w 

>- 1~4U I X Brazil I Indonesia Rwanda I 1: United Kingdom 

50 * 208,300 I 1,318,000 41 ,890 113,900 

60 N.r . I * 

70 I * 

80 I 

87 I 

1940 ~ Burma 

50 * 92,000 

I 

I Malaysia 

South Africa Zaire 

81,590 463,000 

60 * 

1-· J 2,911,000 

70 * 

80 * I 

87 * I I I I I ,I I 

* Reported mine production of less than 2,000 metric tons. 

N.r.- None reported 

FIGURE 10. Countries having greater than 2,000 metric tons of tin mine production in 

any one of the selected years 1940-87. Reported mine production is from U.S . 

Bureau of Mines, (1943-88). Of those countries shown, only Rwanda does not 

have a deposit in the ISMI tin inventory. Countries that have deposits in the 

J 

I * * 

inventory but less than 2,000 metric tons of mine production during the selected 

years (such as Argentina, Japan, Namibia, Portugal, the United States, and 

Zimbabwe) are not included. Numbers for each country include the total production 

from 1940 to 1986 in metric tons. 
70,000 

60,000 

Ui' 

c: 

0 

+"' 50,000 (.) 

·.:::: 

+"' 

Q) 

.§ 40,000 z 

0 

i= 

t.) 30,000 :::::» 

0 

0 

a: 

c.. 

z 20,000 

i= 

10,000 

0 

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 

YEAR 

FroURE 11. Tin production for selected countries from 1980 to 1987. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1986-88.) 

percent of 1987 production and 14.8 percent of 1934 to 

1987 cumulative production. 

Table 7 shows the distribution of reported tin R1E 

resources by mining method and economic class of 

country, which is listed by individual country in table 2. 

About two-thirds of the tin R1E resources are in mines, 

mostly placers, which will be surface mined, and 85 

percent of these resources to be surface mined are in 

middle-income economy countries. About 75 percent of 

lode-tin resources in the inventory are in deposits that are 

being are mined by using underground methods or in 

mines that employ a combination of both underground 

and surface mining methods. The remaining 25 percent 

of lode-tin resources in the inventory are in deposits that 

are mined from the surface. Kamativi, Zimbabwe, is one 

lode deposit that is mined both from the surface and from 

underground. Renison, Australia, is presently (1989) 

being mined from underground after previously being 

mined by surface techniques. Several other lode deposits, including Greenbushes, Mount Bischoff, and 

Taronga, Australia; East Kemptville, Canada; Uis tin 

mine, Namibia; and deposits in the southern tin mining 

area of the Soviet Union, are (or may be) mined by using 

strictly surface-mining methods. All placer deposits in 

the inventory are mined by using surface methods. 

One way to measure the structure of the countries 

that supply a commodity is by the concentration ratio; for 

19 

example, the percentage of total production contributed 

by the largest producing countries. Figure 12 shows the 

four-country and eight-country concentration ratios (or 

percentage) for 1913 and 1980 production of several 

nonfuel mineral commodities. By these measures, tin 

does not rank among those commodities, such as 

platinum-group-metals, manganese, and chromium, that 

are strongly dominated (greater than 90 percent) by four 

countries in either 1913 or 1980. The four-country and 

eight-country concentrations ratios for 1980 are below 

those for 1913, although for both years the top eight 

countries had over 90 percent of world tin production. 

Analysis of annual concentration ratios and prices 

(fig. 13), however, illustrates the difficulty the largest 

tin-producing countries had in maintaining their share of 

world tin market. In 1945, at the close of World War II, 

the four-country concentration ratio was at its peak of 

almost 85 percent, and the price of tin was about $1 , 100 

per metric ton. The four largest tin-producing nations 

that year were Bolivia, Zaire, Nigeria, and Malaysia. 

The two African countries were among the four largest 

producers because perennial top producers, Thailand and 

Indonesia, had curtailed output during the war. The 

eight-country ratio (comprised of production from 

Malaysia, Bolivia, Indonesia, Zaire, Nigeria, China, 

Thailand, and Australia) did not reach its peak of 96 

percent until 1948 when Indonesia had returned to full 
TABLE 5. -Estimated cumulative and annual mine production 

of tin, contained in ore and concentrate, for each country 

having reported production for the period 1934-87 

[Source: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1940-88, and Richard Levine, 1987, 

oral commun. Figures are in metric tons of contained tin; numbers in 

parentheses denote ranking of country. Figures may not add to totals 

shown due to rounding. *=countries not having deposits in the ISMI 

tin inventory. N .r. =none reported] 

Country' 

Malaysia .................. 

Bolivia .................... 

Indonesia .................. 

Thailand 0 0 ••••••••••• ••••• 

China ..................... 

Soviet Union ............... 

Zaire ..................... Nigeria .................... 

Australia .................. 

Brazil. .................... 

United Kingdom ............ 

Burma .................... 

South Africa ............... 

Japan ..................... 

*East Germany ............. 

*Rwanda .................. 

Portugal ................... 

Zimbabwe ................. 

Argentina .................. 

*Laos ..................... 

Namibia ................... 

Peru ...................... 

*Spain .................... 

*Mexico ••••••••••••••• 0. 0 

Canada .................... 

*Uganda .................. 

*France ................... 

*Czechoslovakia ............ 

Tanzania .................. 

*Vietnam .................. 

*Cameroon ................ 

United States ............... 

*Niger .................... 

*Italy ..................... 

*Swaziland ................ 

*Burundi .................. 

*Morocco • • 0 •••••••••••••• 

*Congo ................... 

*South Korea .............. 

*Zambia ••••• 0 •••••••••••• 

*Mozambique .............. 

Total •••••• •••••• 0 •••• 

Cumulative production Annual production 

1934-87 1987 (estimate) 

2,911,000 (1) 

1,538,000 (2) 

1,318,000 (3) 

849,500 (4) 

827,500 (5) 

469,000 (6) 

463,000 (7) 

399,100 (8) 

293,400 (9) 

208,300 (10) 

113,900 (11) 

92,000 (12) 

81,590 (13) 

48,270 (14) 

44,690 (15) 

41,890 (16) 

39,760 (17) 

32,240 (18) 

30,220 (19) 

29,160 (20) 

28,460 (21) 

27,640 (22) 

23,510 (23) 

21,430 (24) 

17,530 (25) 

8,076 (26) 

7,775 (27) 

6,618 (28) 

6,080 (29) 

6,073 (30) 

4,423 (31) 

2,582 (32) 

2,347 (33) 

1,847 (34) 

1,794 (35) 

979 (36) 

962 (37) 

603 (38) 

313 (39) 

309 (40) 

94 (41) 

10,000,000 

30,388 

7,000 

27,000 

15,006 

15,000 

24,000 

1,500 

1,100 

9,000 

28,900 

4,000 

939 

1,413 

86 

1,000 

N.r. 

100 

1,600 

300 

550 

600 

5,000 

400 

372 

3,390 

10 

N.r. 

250 

2 

680 

9 

N.r. 

110 

N.r. 

N.r. 

N.r. 

N.r . 

N.r. 

5 

3 

N.r. 

179,173 

(1) 

(8) 

(3) 

(5) 

(6) 

(4) 

(13) 

(15) 

(7) 

(2) 

(10) 

(17) 

(14) 

(27) 

(16) 

(26) 

(12) 

(23) 

(20) 

(19) 

(9) 

(21) 

(22) 

(11) 

(28) 

(24) 

(32) 

(18) 

(29) 

(25) 

(30) 

(31) 

1 Data are not reported for all countries for every year. Because names of 

many countries have changed since 1934, modem names were used, and no 

account was made of boundary changes. 

production, but Thailand was still recovering. Since 

reaching those highs, both the four-country and eightcountry concentrations ratios have declined, and the 

price of tin has risen sharply. 

By 1980, the four largest tin-producing countries, 

Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bolivia, produced 

20 

t=' 

z 

w 

(.) 

a: 

w 

~ 

0 

~ a: 

z 

0 

1-

~ z 

w 

(.) 

z 

0 

(.) 

1913 1980 

100 Pt 

Mica PGM 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

Ni 

Mn 

Fe 

Pb 

Sn~ 

Au 

Cu 

w 

FOUR-COUNTRY 

RATIO 

Mica 

v 

Au 

Co 

Mn 

Cr 

Sb 

Sn ~ 

Ni 

Fe 

Cu, F 

Pb 

Barite 

Gypsum 

1913 1980 

EIGHT -COUNTRY 

RATIO 

v 

PGM 

Mn 

~ 

FIGURE 12. Concentration ratios (percentage of total production) for selected nonfuel mineral commodity production in 

1913 and 1980 (modified from Scherer, 1970, p. 50-51). 

The ratios are percent of total world production for the 

indicated commodities, designated by chemical element 

symbols (PGM for platinum-group metals), for the four or 

eight countries having the largest reported production of the 

commodity in 1913 and 1980. (Sources of data: U.S. 

Geological Survey, 1921; U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1982.) 

only 67 percent of total production; the eight largest tin 

producers that year, including the Soviet Union, China, 

Australia, and Brazil, produced less than 90 percent of 

the world's tin; and the average price of tin had risen to 

$18,650 per metric ton-a price that encouraged countries not restricted by quotas to produce more tin. 

In 1986, the year after the collapse of the tin 

market, the four leading tin-producing countries, Malaysia, Brazil, the Soviet Union, and Indonesia, had 56 

percent of world production, and the eight largest producers, including Bolivia, Thailand, China, and Australia, had declined to less than 85 percent. 
TABLE 6. -Estimated cumulative and annual mine production of tin, contained in ore and 

concentrate, by economic class for countries having reported production from 1934 through 1987 

[Source: U.S. Bureau of Mines (1940-88) and Richard Levine (1987, oral commun.). Includes some countries 

that had tin production during the period but that are not included in the ISMI tin inventory. Figures are in 

metric tons of contained tin; numbers in parentheses denote production ranking of class. Figures may not add 

up to totals shown due to rounding] 

Economic class 1 Cumulative production Percent Annual production Percent 1934-87 1987 (estimate) 

Low-income .................... 1,479,000 (3) 14.8 18,791 (4) 10.5 

Lower middle-income ............ 4,199,000 (1) 42.0 57,318 (2) 31.9 

Upper middle-income ............ 3,293,000 (2) 32.9 61,478 (1) 34.2 

Industrial market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508,600 (5) 5.1 16,876 (5) 9.4 

East European nonmarket ......... 520,300 (4) 5.2 25,250 (3) 14.1 

Total. ..................... 10,000,000 100.0 179,713 100.0 

1 Based principally on GNP per capita and, in some instances, other distinguishing economic characteristics (World 

Bank, 1986, p. 180-181). Countries that had reported tin production from 1934 through 1987 are, by class (countries not in the 

ISMI inventory are in italics): low-income economies-Burma, Burundi, China, Laos, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, 

Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zaire; lower middle-income economies-Bolivia, Cameroon, Congo, Indonesia, 

Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Peru, Thailand, Zambia, Zimbabwe; upper middle-income economies-Argentina, Brazil, 

Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea; industrial market economies-Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, 

Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States; and eastern European nonmarket economies-Czechoslovakia, East Germany, 

the Soviet Union. A sixth economic class, high-income oil exporters, is not listed because those countries did not have reported 

tin production from 1934 through 1987. 

TABLE 7.-Tin R1E resources in the world's major deposits 

and districts, listed by mining method and economic class of 

country 

100 

95 

90 

[Figures are in metric tons of contained tin. Figures may not add to 

totals shown due to rounding. N.r.=none reported] 

Mining method 

Economic class 1 

Surface Underground Surface and 

underground 

Low-income ........... 510,000 1,563,000 N.r. 

Lower middle-income ... 1,907,000 560,400 31,670 

Upper middle-income ... 2,395,000 80,420 24,200 

Industrial market ....... 96,050 248,200 N.r. 

Eastern European 

nonmarket .......... 2 150,000 2 150,000 N.r. 

z 85 0 

~en 80 a:o 75 !Z~ ~a: 70 z 

0 

u 65 

60 

55 

YEAR 

l! 

Total ............. 5,059,000 2,602,000 55,880 

20 

z 18 := 

u 16 

Current dollars -1\_ 1 I \.. Based principally on GNP per capita and, in some cases, other 

distinguishing economic characteristics (World Bank, 1986, p. 180-181.) A 

sixth economic class, high-income oil exporters, is not listed because those 

countries do not have identified major tin deposits. 2 Estimate. 

TIN CONSUMPTION 

The contrast between tin-producing nations can be 

seen in tables 5 and 8 and in figure 14. Middle-income 

economy countries like Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, and 

Thailand have the greatest annual and cumulative production, yet they consume only a small part of the tin 

they produce. In 1987, the industrial market economy 

countries, such as the United States, Japan, and Germany, collectively consumed nearly 1 ,000 times more 

21 

~ 14 ::::! 

a: 12 w 

i ·~ 

~~ 10 

!f ~ 8 

g 6 

c 

~ 4 

5 2 

E o 

1967 dollars......, Jl..... 

~~~ .. ~u ....... ._ ....... ·--:·"' .I 

i \ 

"j \r , .. r'\. 

l!V ~ 

~ \.o 

1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 

YEAR 

FIGURE 13. Tin concentration ratios and prices for the years 

1935 to 1988. (Source: concentration ratios, available for 

1935 to 1987, calculated from U.S. Bureau of Mines, 

1946-88; prices, available for 1935 to June 1988, from 

Metallgesellschaft, 1961, p. 246; 1986, p. 428; and 1988, 

p. 455). 
TABLE 8. -Estimated .cumulative and annual apparent consumption of tin by major tin-consuming countries 

[Source: Metallgesellschaft, 1986, no. 73, p. 46-47, and 1988, no. 75, 

p. 44-45. Figures are in thousand metric tons of tin; numbers in 

parentheses denote ranking of country. N .r., not reported; N .a., not 

applicable] 

Country Cumulative consumption Annual consumption 

1975-87 1987 

United States ............ 535.7 (1) 35.6 (1) 

Japan .................. 402.8 (2) 32.6 (2) 

Soviet Union ............ 345.5 (3) 29.0 (3) 

West Germany .......... 199.9 (4) 17.5 (4) 

United Kingdom ......... 151.9 (5) 9.8 (6) 

China .................. 136.5 (6) 13.5 (5) 

France ................. 114.2 (7) 7.4 (8) 

Italy ................... 70.1 (8) 6.0 (9) 

Brazil .................. 64.6 (9) 7.9 (7) 

Netherlands ............. 63.2 (10) 4.7 (11) 

Canada ................. 55.0 (11) 4.0 (12) 

Spain .................. 53.3 (12) 3.3 (15) 

Poland ................. 50.0 (13) 2.7 (17) 

Czechoslovakia .......... 45.0 (14) 3.1 (16) 

East Germany ........... 38.8 (15) 3.4 (14) 

Australia ............... 36.8 (16) 1.1 (27) 

Romania ............... 33.8 (17) 1.5 (24) 

South Korea ............ 33.7 (18) 5.8 (10) 

India .................. 33.2 (19) 2.6 (18) 

Belgium-Luxembourg ..... 30.2 (20) 1.4 (25) 

South Africa ............ 26.0 (21) 2.0 (21) 

Taiwan ................. 23.6 (22) 4.0 (12) 

Mexico ................ 22.1 (23) 2.5 (19) 

Hungary ................ 21.0 (24) 1.3 (26) 

Bolivia ................. 18.6 (25) .3 (42) 

Yugoslavia ............. 16.6 (26) 1.1 (27) 

Argentina ............... 16.6 (26) 1.0 (30) 

Hong Kong ...........•. 14.3 (28) 2.5 (19) 

Turkey ................. 14.1 (29) 1.1 (27) 

Bulgaria ................ 12.6 (30) 2.0 (21) 

Switzerland ............. 9.9 (31) .9 (31) 

Portugal ................ 9.7 (32) .8 (33) 

Thailand ............... 9.3 (33) 1.9 (23) 

Indonesia ............... 8.1 (34) .9 (31) 

Philippines. . . . . . . . . . . ... 7.9 (35) .7 (35) 

Greece ................. 6.1 (36) .6 (36) 

Norway ................ 6.0 (37) .4 (40) 

Austria ................. 6.0 (37) .5 (37) 

Peru ................... 5.6 (39) .5 (37) 

Sweden ................ 5.4 (40) .4 (40) 

Venezuela .............. 5.4 (40) .8 (33) 

Egypt .................. 4.4 (42) .2 (43) 

Pakistan ................ 3.6 (43) .5 (37) 

New Zealand ............ 3.0 (44) .2 (43) 

Denmark ............... 2.1 (45) N.r. 

Finland ................ 1.8 (46) .1 (45) 

Others ................. 79.5 N.a. 5.1 N.a. 

Total .............. 2,853.5 227.2 

tin than they produced. The Soviet Union, the only 

eastern European nonmarket economy country having a 

deposit in the tin inventory, ranked third in production in 

1987. In 1987, it consumed about 5 ,000 metric tons 

more than it produced. As a group, the low-income 

economy countries, such as Burma, China, and Zaire, 

22 

produce somewhat more tin than they consume. A joint 

study by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. 

Department of Commerce (1986) noted that U.S. tin 

consumption from 1972 decreased at a compound annual 

rate of 5. 4 percent and would continue to decline from 

1982 to 1993 at a compound annual rate of 3.2 percent. 

Figure 15 illustrates where the current tin producers are and, from a resource standpoint, those deposits 

that will likely be producing tin in 2025. Decreases in 

production from certain deposits (for example, the Cornish lodes and lode deposits in Bolivia) may be replaced 

by production from present major suppliers such as 

Brazil or China or from currently inactive deposits in 

Australia such as Mount Bischoff, Doradilla, and 

Gillian. For example, Gillian's ability to become a tin 

producer would be largely due to a future technological 

breakthrough that would allow economical recovery of 

tin from stanniferous goethite in addition to fine-grained 

cassiterite. Research into extractive metallurgy on tinskarn mineralogy, in which the tin may be present in 

silicate or borate minerals that are not presently amenable to normal recovery methods, would likely improve 

the resource outlook for this type of deposit. Lode 

deposits, such as Dachang and Gejiu in China and 

Renison in Australia, could be producing at that time, as 

would the placer deposits in the Southeast Asian Tin 

Belt. Pitinga, the world's largest tin producer and one of 

the few operations to be making money when the price of 

tin was most strongly depressed (Mayo, 1988), should 

continue to be a leading producer through 2025. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Tin is considered a strategic mineral commodity 

because of its use in tinplate and as a solder in electronics 

products and its utilization in tin chemicals and in alloys 

with other metals. In most of these cases, other metals 

such as aluminum or plastics can substitute for tin but 

with a loss of performance and (or) an increase in cost. 

As a secondary source, recycling provides tin for chemicals and solder to reduce dependency on primary production. 

Until recently, International Tin Agreements 

between producing and consuming nations controlled the 

price and supply stability of the tin market. Tin deposits 

are of two basic types-lodes and placers. Lodes are 

generally mined at relatively high cost by underground 

methods, while placers are mined from the surface. 

Southeast Asia, Brazil, and China contain the major part 

of the world's tin resources. 

Industrial market economy countries consume 

about three-quarters of the tin produced each year, 
1987 TIN CONSUMPTION 1987 TIN PRODUCTION 

UPPER MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES UPPER 34.21 percent MIDDLE-INCOME 

ECONOMIES 

11.88 percent EASTERN 

EUROPEAN NONMARKET 

ECONOMIES 

14.05 percent 

EASTERN EUROPEAN NONMARKET ECONOMIES 

18.93 percent 

LOWER MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES 

31.89 percent 

FIGURE 14. Tin production and consumption in 1987 by economic class of country (World Bank, 1986, p. 180- 181; Carlin, 1987, 

p. 972; and Metallgesellschaft, 1984, p. 5). 

whereas low- and middle-income economy countries 

account for most of that production. Since 1934, the 

low- and middle-income economy countries have 

accounted for about 90 percent of the world's tin 

production. Over the last 3 decades, mining and smelting 

operations in several tin-producing nations have been 

taken over by the government, thereby reducing private 

ownership, establishing local control, and reducing the 

participation of industrial market economy countries in 

tin production. 

The first postwar International Tin Agreement of 

1953 established the International Tin Council. When 

first established, the objectives of the Tin Council were 

to maintain price and supply stability. These objectives 

were accomplished through six International Tin Agreements, by buying tin in the world market through a 

buffer stock to maintain an established price. This 

approach, in tum, necessitated periodic export quota's 

on producing lTC members to limit tin supply. Despite 

these measures, a waning demand for tin in the late 

1970's and early 1980's (in part due to artificially high 

tin prices), coupled with the emergence of Brazil as a 

major non-ITC producer, led to a tin glut. The Buffer 

23 

Stock Manager made large purchases of tin to remove 

the excess supplies. In October 1985, the Buffer Stock 

Manager's funds were exhausted, trading was suspended, the tin council and prices collapsed, and about 

100,000 metric tons of tin stocks remained. 

Since collapse of the lTC, the most important 

factors in the short-term forecast for the future of tin are 

the rate of disposal and the level of tin stocks. In 

February 1989, the stocks had been reduced to 30,550 

metric tons from 73,000 metric tons in March 1987, 

when the Association of Tin Producing Countries started 

supply controls (Mining Journal, 1989b). As these 

stocks are depleted, consumption and supply will take on 

greater significance. When the stocks are consumed, the 

future demand for tin will depend on how the tinplate 

market has changed in response to lower prices. 

Brazil, presently the world's lowest cost and leading producer, will continue to have a profound effect on 

the tin market, as will China. Low-cost operations in the 

Southeast Asian Tin Belt and in Africa will remain 

competitive, but high-cost underground producers such 

as Japan, Bolivia, and perhaps the United Kingdom will 

likely close or require government subsidization. 
N 

""' 

160' 40' 120' 

60' P> ? 

~ 

20' ., 

0' 

20' 

PERU 

BOLIVIA 

Dredges --~---__,~bl\ 

Northern region ---......:,v 

Central region-----1"1:),: 

Southern region ----'Jr 

Pitinga 

Rhodia-Espeng 

Best Group 

Brascan Group 

Brazilian 

40' ,_ 

ARGENTINA 

Pirquitas 

prospects 

Brumadinho 

C-75 Garimpo 

Union mine 

Zaaiplaats 

Rooiberg MERCATOR PROJECTION 

70, O'ZTT 0' LATITU?o~ 

I 000 500 0 500 1000 KILOMETERS "' Base from Bundesanstalt fOr Geowissenschaften und Roh tO?re~ 

Bounpary a~ d narres ep 1on 1 not ~eces sp y a~thon tjl tl ve 1 

NAMIBIA Van Rooi's VIe~ 

Kuils River 

EXPLANATION 

• Active or intermittent producer in 1988; probably a significant producer in 2025. 

() Active or intermittent producer in 1988; probably an insignificant producer in 2025. 

Renison 

t;l Active or intermittent producer in 1988; information insufficient to permit any forecast as to future production. 

CD No production in 1988 or 1988 production not reported; probably an insignificant producer or exhausted by 2025. 

160' 

·. _..,_.. 

MALAYSIA 

Gravel pumps e 

"' 0 

. 

t;]~ 

@ No production in 1988 or 1988 production not reported; information insufficient to permit any forecast as to future production. 

FIGURE 15. Major tin deposits and districts, their present production status, and their probable production status in 2025 . Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of 

records (deposits and districts) for each location. Location names are from the tables in Part II. 
PART II-SELECTED INVENTORY INFORMATION 

FOR TIN DEPOSITS AND DISTRICTS 

Tables 9 and 10 contain information from the 

International Strategic Minerals Inventory record forms 

for tin deposits and districts. Only selected items of 

information about the location and geology (table 9) and 

mineral production and resources (table 10) of the 

deposits are listed here; some of this information has 

been abbreviated. 

Summary descriptions and data are presented in the 

tables as closely as possible to the way that they were 

25 

reported in the inventory records. For instance, significant digits for amounts of production or resources have 

been maintained as reported. Data that were reported in 

units other than metric tons have been converted to 

metric tons for comparability. Some of the data in the 

tables are more aggregated than in the inventory records, 

such as cumulative production totals that for some mines 

have been reported by year or by groups of years. Some 

of the abbreviations used in the inventory records forms 

have been used in these tables; they are explained in the 

headnotes. 
Abbreviations used throughout this table include: 

-, Not reported on the ISMI record form 

Ma, Million years 

Ga, Thousand million years 

TABLE 9.-Selected geologic and location information 

Host rock includes some or all of the following items (separated by semicolons): main host rock type; formation name; and host rock age. 

Age abbreviations and prefix: 

Cenozoic . . . . . . . . . . . . CEN 

Quaternary ........... QUAT 

Holocene. . . . . . . . . . . . HOLO 

Pleistocene . . . . . . . . . . PLEIS 

Tertiary ............. TERT 

Miocene . . . . . . . . . . . . MIO 

Oligocene . . . . . . . . . . . OLIG 

Mesozoic. . . . . . . . . . . . MES 

Cretaceous. . . . . . . . . . . CRET 

Jurassic . . . . . . . . . . . . . JUR 

Triassic . . . . . . . . . . . . . TRI 

Paleozoic. . . . . . . . . . . . PAL 

Permian. . . . . . . . . . . . . PERM 

Site name 

Pirquitas mine (Jujuy 

Province). 

Ardlethan (New South 

Wales). 

Collingwood 

(Queensland). 

Doradilla (New South 

Wales). 

Gillian (Queensland) 

Greenbushes (Western 

Australia). 

Mount Bischoff 

(Tasmania). 

Latitude 

34°20'S. 

15°46'S. 

30°20'S. 

l7°43'S. 

33°50'S. 

41°25'S. 

Carboniferous . . . . . . . . CARB 

Pennsylvanian ........ PENN 

Mississippian . . . . . . . . . MISS 

Devonian ............ DEV 

Silurian . . . . . . . . . . . . . SIL 

Ordovician ........... ORD 

Cambrian. . . . . . . . . . . . CAMB 

Precambrian. . . . . . . . . . PREC 

Proterozoic . . . . . . . . . . PROT 

Archean . . . . . . . . . . . . ARCH 

Early ............... E 

Middle ............. M 

Late ............... L 

Longitude Deposit type 

Argentina 

66°29'W. Lode, subvolcanic vein 

Australia 

146°51'E. Lode, breccia systems 

(plutonic) 

145°15'E. Lode, massive greisen 

systems. 

146°21'E. Lode, skarn 

145°03'E. ----do------------

l15°59'E. Lode, pegmatite 

145°32'E. Lode, carbonate replacement; alteration of 

quartz-orthoclase 

porphyry dikes. 

26 

Host rock 

Schist (metavolcanics); Acoyte 

formation; ORD. 

Granitic breccia within biotite-rich 

S-type granite; Mine granite; LSIL. 

Greisen; Ardlethan granite; LSIL. 

Greisenized granite; Finlayson granite; 

PERM. 

Hornfelsed argillites; Hodgkinson 

formation; MDEV -L(?)CARB. 

Calc-silicate hornfels, garnetclinopyroxene skarn, dolomite, 

marble skarn; Girilamgone beds; 

ORD. 

Leucoadamellite, quartz-feldspar 

porphyry? 

Sedimentary rocks; basalt, chert; Mount 

Gamet formation; SIL-DEV. 

Granite, rhyolitic porphyry dikes; 

Elizabeth Creek granite; MCARB. 

Granodiorite; Hammond Creek 

granodiorite; PERM. 

Pegmatite; Greenbushes pegmatite 

group; ARCH. 

Lateritized boulder, gravel, and sand 

deposits; Greenbushes formation; 

CEN. 

Dolomite, dolomitic shale, quartzite; 

Mount Bischoff beds; PREC. 

Quartz-orthoclase dikes and sills; DEV. 

Age of mineralization 

LSIL (417±2.5 

Ma). 

PERM 

PERM 

ARCH (2.53 Ga) 

DEV 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts 

Abbreviations for mineral names (after Longe and others, 1978, p. 63-66): 

Albite ................ ALBT Clay ................. CLAY 

Allanite ............... ALNT Clinopyroxene . . . . . . . . . . CLPX 

Malayaite . . . . . . . . . . . . . ML YT 

Marcasite . . . . . . . . . . . . . MRCS 

Siderite ............... SDRT 

Silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SL VR 

Sphalerite . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPLR 

Spodumene . . . . . . . . . . . . SPDM 

Stannite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STNT 

Stibnite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STBN 

Sulfides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SLPD 

Ankerite .............. ANKR 

Apatite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AP'IT 

Argentite .............. ARGT 

Arsenopyrite . . . . . . . . . . . ARPR 

Barite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRIT 

Columbite ............. CLMB Marmatite ............. MRMT 

Miargyrite. . . . . . . . . . . . . MRGR 

Mica ................. MICA 

Molybdenite ........... MLBD 

Monazite .............. MNZT 

Beryl ................ BRYL 

Cookeite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COKT 

Ferberite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FRBR 

Fluorite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FLRT 

Franckeite . . . . . . . . . . . . . FRCK 

Galena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GLEN Muscovite . . . . . . . . . . . . . MSCV Talc ................. TALC 

Beryllium ............. BRLM Gamet ............... GRNT Orthoclase ............. ORCL Tantalite .............. TNTL 

Biotite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BOTT 

Bismuth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BSMT 

Bismuthinite . . . . . . . . . . . BSMN 

Bornite ............... BRNT 

Goethite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GTHT 

Gold ................. GOLD 

Hematite .............. HMTT 

llmenite .............. ILMN 

Phosphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . PSPT 

Polybasite . . . . . . . . . . . . . PLBS 

Proustite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PRST 

Pyrargyrite . . . . . . . . . . . . PRRG 

Tetrahedrite ............ TRDR 

Thorite ............... THRT 

Titanite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TINT 

Topaz ................ TOPZ 

Calcite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLCT 

Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . CRBN 

Cassiterite . . . . . . . . . . . . . CSTR 

Cerargyrite . . . . . . . . . . . . CRRG 

Chalcopyrite . . . . . . . . . . . CLCP 

Indite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INDT Pyrite ................ PYRT Tourmaline . . . . . . . . . . . . TRML 

Jamesonite ............ JMSN 

Kaolin ............... KOLN 

Limonite .............. LMON 

Magnetite ............. MGNT 

Pyrrhotite . . . . . . . . . . . . . PYTT 

Quartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QRTZ 

Scheelite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SCL T 

Sericite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SRCT 

Wolframite ............ WLFM 

Xenotime ............. XNTM 

Zinnwaldite ............ ZNWD 

Zircon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ZRCN 

Chlorite .............. CLRT 

Tectonic setting 

Extension of 

Bolivian tin 

belt. 

Plutons on westem margin of 

the Lachlan 

fold belt (Girilambone anticlinoria! zone). 

Folded and 

faulted shallow 

marine shelf. 

Folded and 

faulted shallow 

marine shelf. 

Crustal formation 

by mafic volcanics and sediments. 

West-southwesttrending PREC 

antiformal 

structure from 

overturned and 

isoclinally 

folded sequence. 

Local environment 

Late stage granite 

implaced in preexisting 

Ardlethan granite. 

Greisenlvein development 

in volatiles-rich granite 

that has homfelsed 

overlying sediments. 

Exoskarn developed near 

contact of calcareous 

units with volatiles-rich 

porphyritic leucoadamellite. 

Localized limestones converted to Sn-W-Fbearing skarns near contact with Elizabeth 

Creek granite. 

lmplacement of rare-earth 

pegmatite during shearing and metamorphism. 

Mineralization with the 

Mt. Bischoff beds as 

replacement. Alteration 

of porphyry dikes/sills 

intruded near crest of 

antiformal flexure. 

Principal mineral assemblages 

Argentina-Continued 

CSTR,QRTZ,PYRT;SLVR,ARGT, 

GLEN, SPLR, PRRG, MRGR, PLBS, 

PRST, CRRG. 

Australia-Continued 

CSTR,SRCT,TRML,QRTZ,ARPR, 

FLRT;CSTR,TOPZ,SRCT,FLRT, 

COKT, TRML, ARPR, WLFM; 

CSTR,SRCT,TRML,QRTZ,PYRT, 

CLCP,SPLR,GLEN,CLRT. 

CSTR,SRCT,TRML,QRTZ 

CSTR, PYTT, PYRT; hydrated CSTR, 

CLAY, LMON; MLYT, CSTR, 

CLPX, grossular GRNT, BRNT, 

CLCP,SPLR,GLEN,ARPR,PYRT, 

BOTT, CLRT, TTNT, MGNT, FLRT, 

QRTZ. 

CSTR, Sn-GTHT, LMON, MGNT, 

HMTT. 

CSTR, Nb-TNTL, Sb-TNTL, SPDM, 

APTT, BRYL, TRML, ALBT, QRTZ, 

ARPR, GRNT, KOLN. 

Carbonate replacement: CSTR, PYTT, 

ARPR, TALC, QRTZ. 

Altered porphyry: CSTR, PYTT, ARPR, 

TOPZ, QRTZ. 

27 

Comments 

Three generations of mineralization; cassiterite is 

chiefly in the first; silver 

is in the second and third 

generations. 

Hydrothermal breccia pipes, 

greisens, and veins were 

created by emplacement 

of late-stage granite. 

Deposit consists of a cupola 

with greisen cap and 

quartz-cassiterite veins 

with greisen borders. 

Host rocks also include 

garnet-clinopyroxene 

skarn, dolomite, marble, 

sulfide skarn, and quartzfeldspar porphyry. 

Minerals are the weathered 

equivalent of sulfide-rich 

cassiterite, magnetite, Sobearing garnet. 

A complex rare-earth pegmatite with deep eluvial 

profile, alluvial concentrations, and with hard-rock 

resources for tin, 

tantalum- niobium, lithium, and beryllium. 

Quartz-orthoclase dikes/sills 

were altered by fluids that 

replaced the adjacent 

dolomitic units. 

Reference 

Ross (1941), 

Velasco 

(1988). 

Clarke and others 

(1985). 

Krosch (1985). 

Plimer (1984). 

Brown and others 

(1984). 

Blockley (1980). 

Collins (1986). 
Site name 

Queen Hill deposits 

(Tasmania). 

Renison (Tasmania) 

Taronga (New South 

Wales). 

Bolivian central region 

deposits (Morococala 

district). 

Bolivian dredges 

Bolivian northern region 

deposits (Morococala 

district). 

Bolivian southern region 

Best Group (Rondonia 

and Para States). 

Brascan Group (Rondonia tin province). 

Brazilian prospects (Para 

and Goias States). 

Latitude 

41°54'S. 

41°47'S. 

29°27'S. 

l9°S. 

l8°S. 

I 9°S. 

l9°S. 

Serra 

Branca: 

13°37'S. 

48°04'W. 

Table 9. -Selected geologic and location information 

Longitude Deposit type Host rock Age of mineralization 

Australia-Continued 

145°18'E. Lode, carbonate replacement. 

145°26'E. Lode, carbonate replacement. 

151°32'E. Lode, stockwork/sheeted 

veins. 

Bolivia 

66°W. Lode, subvolcanic 

65°W. Placer, alluvial 

66°W. Lode, vein 

660W. Lode, subvolcanic 

Brazil 

65°08'W. Placer, gravel pump 

63°W. Placer, gravel pump; 

Lode, massive 

greisen. 

Mocambo: ----do------------

06050'S. 

51°57'W. 

28 

Evaporitic carbonate, pyritic mudstone; 

Oonab quartzite; PROT. 

Volcaniclastic wacke, shale; Crimson 

Creek formation; CAMB. 

Dolomite, sandstone; Success Creek 

group; LCAMB. 

Dolostone, quartzite, siltstone; Success 

Creek group; ECAMB. 

Dolostone, siltstone, shale, sandstone; 

Crimson Creek formation; ECAMB. 

Fault infill; DEV. 

Mudstone, siltstone, sandstone (homfelsed); LPERM-CARB. 

Slate, metasediment, volcanics; 

Llallagua, Unica, Pampa, Cerro Rico 

formations; ORD-LTERT. 

Sediments; QUAT 

Granodiorite; TERT. 

Quartzite, shale; PAL. 

Llallagua formation; PAL-TERT 

Greisen; PREC. 

Paleovalley sediments. 

Granite; Rapakivi granite; PREC. 

Paleovalley sediments. 

Grupo Araxa; PREC. 

Grupo Arai; PREC. 

Granitized quartzites; PREC. 

DEV 

----do-----------

LTRI? 

TERT 

TERT 

----do-----------

PREC 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Tectonic setting 

Shallow to deeper 

water trough 

sedimentation 

(Dundas 

trough). 

Within gently 

folded Dundas 

trough 

(ECAMBCARB?). 

Marine sediments 

of the New 

England fold 

belt (back arc 

environment?). 

Bolivian 

cordillera. 

----do-----------

----do------------

----do------------

PREC shield 

----do------------

Stable craton, 

PREC shield. 

Local environment 

Broad folding and faulting. 

Faults act as loci of 

mineral fluids plumbed 

up from concealed DEV 

granite. 

Mineralization within both 

east limb of broad anticline and truncating 

eastern fault; other block 

faulting is present. 

L TRI adamelllite intrusion 

underlies stockwork 

veins along an anticlinial axis. 

Lipez Huayco and Antequera riverbeds. 

A vicaya anticline 

Paleovalley placers 

----do------------

Principal mineral assemblages 

Australia-Continued 

Queen Hill and Montana depositsCSTR,PYRT,SDRT,CLRT,QRTZ, 

SPLR, GLEN, STNT, Ag sulfosalts. 

Severn deposit-CSTR, PYTT, PYRT, 

SDRT, QRTZ, SPLR, GLEN, STNT, 

Ag sulfosalts; CSTR, PYRT, QRTZ 

veins; STNT, PYRT, CLCP, QRTZ 

veins. 

CSTR,PYTT;CSTR,PYTT,ARPR, 

PYRT,CSTR,QRTZ,ARPR,PYTT, 

TRML. 

CSTR,QRTZ,CLCP,ARPR,FLRT, 

TOPZ, MSCV. 

Bolivia-Continued 

CSTR, BSMN, SPLR, STNT, FRCK, 

CLCP, PYRT, MRCS, SDRT, 

hydrous phosphates, BRIT. 

CSTR, HMTT, MGNT, ILMN, TRML, 

QRTZ. 

CSTR, PYRT, BSMN, CLCP, ARPR, 

WLFM, CLCT, HMTT, SDRT, 

GLEN. 

CSTR, BSMT, SPLR, STNT, FRCK, 

CLCP, PYRT, MCSV, SDRT, 

hydrous phosphate. 

Brazil-Continued 

CSTR, TOPZ, TRML, XNTM, CLMB, 

PSPT, GOLD, ILMN. 

CSTR, TOPZ, MSCV. 

TRML,FLRT,BRYL,CSTR,ZNWD, 

CRBN. 

29 

Comments 

Clarkes lode was discovered 

in 1895 and the 

cassiterite+pyrite association in 1965. 

Replacement of parts of 

dolomitic units adjacent to 

and within faults which 

acted as solution pathways. 

Vertical vein swarms and 

mineralized joints with 

muscovite selvages. 

Stockwork of TERT intrusives and breccia pipes. 

Sericitic alteration, tourmalization, and silicification are present. 

Includes Comsur, Estalsa, 

and El Centenario 

dredges. 

Sericite, chlorite, tourmaline, and greisen-type 

alteration have been 

identified. 

Reference 

Anderson (1986). 

Morland (1986). 

Offenberg (1982). 

Fox (1971), 

Sillitoe and 

others (1975). 

Do. 

Do. 

Tertiary intrusives, breccia Do. 

pipes, and sericitic alteration occur throughout the 

stockwork. Tourmalization 

and silification are at 

Avicaya. 

Exploration continues at Sao 

Sebastiao deposit and in 

Rondonia and Para States 

in general. 

Includes Santa Barbara, 

Taboquinha, Nova 

Mundo, Poco, Cortez, 

Candeias, Potosi (alluvial), Potosi (alluvial), 

Potosi Hill (lode), 

Duduca, and Jacunda 

mines and deposits. Potosi 

Hill is minor. This record 

reflects only alluvial 

deposits. 

Includes Serra Branca 

deposit and Mocambo 

project. Autochthonous 

deposit; greisenized or 

granitized. PREC intrusives, sediments, and . 

extrusives are at Serra 

Branca. 

Bettencourt and 

others (1981). 

Mareno (1986). 
Site name 

Brumadinho Group 

(Rondonia and Gohis 

States). 

C-75 Garimpo (Rondonia State). 

Paranapanema group 

Pitinga (Mapuero tin 

district, Amazonas). 

Rhodia-Espeng (Para 

State). 

Mawchi mine (Kayah 

Province). 

Tenasserim Valley 

(Southeast Asian Tin 

Belt). 

East Kemptville (Nova 

Scotia). 

Mount Pleasant (New 

Brunswick). 

Dachang tin field 

(Guangxi Province). 

Latitude 

09°33'S. 

09°54'S. 

00°45'S. 

06°02'S. 

18°49'N. 

44°06'N. 

45°26'N. 

24°50'N. 

Longitude Deposit type 

Brazil-Continued 

62°25'W. Placer and lode 

63°26'W. Placer, eluvial; lode, 

greisen and vein. 

60°07'W. Placer, onshore dredge 

53°43'W. Placer, gravel pump 

Burma 

97°10'E. Lode, vein 

Placer (alluvial) 

Canada 

65°41 'W. Lode, greisen 

66°49'W. Lode, subvolcanic 

vein/porphyry. 

China 

107°50'E. Lode, carbonate replacement. 

30 

Table 9. -Selected geologic and location information 

Host rock 

Granite; Rapakivi granite; PREC. 

Schists and granites; Grupo Araxa, 

Grupo Arai; PREC. 

Paleovalley fill. 

Granite; Rondonia granite suite; 

EPROT-MPROT (1,150-925 Ma). 

Gneiss, basement rocks; Xingu complex; EPROT -MPROT (> 1,500 

Ma). 

"Apogranite"; Madera granite; MPROT 

(1.9-1.5 Ga). 

Rhyolite and tuffs; MPROT. 

Granite (source); Velho Guilherme type 

granite; PREC?. 

Granite (source); Maloquinha intrusive 

suite; PREC?. 

Clastic and carbonate metasediments; 

Mawchi series; CARB (MISSPENN). 

Granite; Mawchi granitoid pluton; 

LMES-ETERT. 

Eluvial and alluvial sediments; 

Mergui series; CARB. 

Granite (tourmaline-rich); LMES. 

Granite; Davis Lake Complex; LDEVECARB. 

Granite; LMISS (340-330 Ma, Rb-Sr). 

Breccia; LMISS. 

Quartz-feldspar porphyry; LMISS 

(340-330 Ma, Rb-Sr). 

Shale, marl, limestone; MDEVLPERM. 

Granite (source rock); Longxianggai 

biotite granite; CRET (107 Ma, 

K/Ar). 

Age of mineralization 

EPROT -MPROT 

(1,150-925 Ma). 

MPROT 

LCARB (295±5 

Ma, Ar-Ar). 

MISS (340-330 

Ma, K/Ar, W, 

Mo, Bi). 

MISS (340-330 

Ma, K/Ar, Sn, 

base metals). 

CRET (107 Ma); 

CRET (97 Ma). 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Tectonic setting Local environment Principal mineral assemblages Comments Reference 

Brazil-Continued 

PREC shield Paleovalley concentrations CSTR, TRML, FLRT, ILMN Includes the following pro- Mareno (1986). 

of cassiterite and other ducing deposits: Oriente 

resistate minerals. Novo, Cachoeirinha, Sao 

Domingos, and Sao Lauren~o; and several nonproducing deposits. 

CSTR,QRTZ The deposit falls on the Thorman and 

edge of a circular topo- Drew (1988). 

graphic feature. Almost 

every tin deposit in that 

part of Rondonia is associated with a ring structure or a circular pluton. 

PREC shield Paleovalley concentrations CSTR, ZRCN, PCLR, CLMB, TNTL, Paranapanema' s largest Mareno (1986), 

of cassiterite and other XNTM. deposit, by far, is the Thorman and 

resistate minerals. Pitinga deposit. In 1988, Drew (1988). 

19 dredges operated there. 

CSTR, WLFM, CLMB, MNZT, ZRCN, Located on the Igarape de 

TRML. Bala, in the Iriri River 

region, west of the Xingu 

River. 

Burma-Continued 

Intrusion of Mawchi gran- CSTR, WLFM,PYRT,CLCP,SCLT More than 60 major veins Khin and Thet 

itoid pluton. are in the mine. Vein (1983). 

strike 6-60 °NE., dip 

75-80 OW. Maximum 

length is 570 m, and 

average thickness is 1 m. 

Tin mineralization is 

found down to 300 m. 

Southeast Asian Tin Belt. CSTR, WLFM, BSMN, MGNT, PYRT Deposits are similar to those 

in Malaysia and Thailand 

but not as large; the 

terrain in Burma is not 

favorable to the formation 

of large placer deposits. 

Canada-Continued 

LP AL orogenic LDEV -ECARB epizonal CSTR, QRTZ, MSCV, TOPZ, PYRT, Deposit consists of tin-rich, Richardson and 

belt granite batholith that PYTT,SPLR,CLCP,ARPR, greisen-altered granite, others (1982). 

(Hercynian). intruded CAMB-ORD WLFM, FLRT. adjacent to fractures and 

clastic metasedimentary quartz veins, and under 

rocks. 3-5 m of glacial till. 

LPAL Volcanic center on the CSTR,FLRT,TOPZ,QRTZ,CLRT, Cassiterite occurs in veins Kooiman and 

orogenic belt. margin of a MISS ARPR,CLCP,PYRT,SPLR, and as disseminated grains others (1986). 

caldera. GLEN, STNT, WLFM. and clusters in greisenaltered granite and associated quartz-feldspar 

porphyry and breccia. 

China-Continued 

On NW border of NW-SE trending anti- CSTR, PYTT, MRMT, PYRT, JMSN, At least nine ore bodies are Premoli (1986). 

Shan tectonic clinorium parallel to a CLCP, GLEN, STBN, FLRT. known at Dachang. At 

belt, SE of the major fault system and Changpo mine, mineralpre-Sinian characterized by large ization is known to a 

Chianganian overthrust structures. depth of 500 m. China's 

shield. tin industry is plagued 

with a lack of water, electricity, and facilities. 

31 
Table 9.-Selected geologic and location information 

Site name Latitude Longitude Deposit type Host rock Age of mineralization 

China-Continued 

Gejiu district (Yunnan 23°20'N. 103"20'E. Lode, carbonate replace- Limestone and dolomite with minor 115-84 Ma (K/ Ar) 

Province). ment, some vein-type argillite, tuff and basalt; MTRI. porphyritic 

skarn. Gneiss and schist (bedrock); PREC. biotite granite. 

Biotite granite (intrudes the limestone); 80-64 Ma (K/ Ar) 

CRET (115-64 Ma, K/Ar). equigranular 

biotite granite. 

Indonesia 

Kelapa Kampit mine 02°45'S. 108°05'E. Lode, vein Quartzites, sandstones, slates; PERM. LTRI 

(Belitung). Granitoids; MES. 

P.T. Tambang Timah- 02°S. 106~. Placer, gravel pump, and Alluvial and eluvial sediments; 

Bangka (Bangka). onshore dredge. post-TRI. 

P. T. Tambang Timah- 02°40'S. ----do------ ----do------------

Belitung (Belitung). 107°50'E. 

P.T. Koba Tin (Bangka) 02°35'S. l06°24'E. Placer, gravel pump, and Detrital sediments 

dredge. 

Japan 

Akenobe mine (Hyogo 35°13'N. 134°4l'E. Lode, polymetallic vein Slate; Setani formation (Maizuru TERT? 

Prefecture, Honshu group); LPERM. 

Island). Basalt, basaltic tuff, and phyllite; 

Surugamme formation (Maizuru 

group); LPERM. 

Suzuyama mine (Kyiishii 310JO'N. 130"26'E. Lode, pegmatite and Granite; TERT. TERT 

Island). quartz veins. Pegmatite; LMES-ETERT. 

Shale and sandstone; MES. 

Malaysia 

Malaysian dredges 04°N. l03°E. Placer, onshore dredge Alluvium; QUAT. 

(Southeast Asian Tin Granite; MES. 

Belt). Sediments; PAL. 

Malaysian gravel pump 04°N. 103~. Placer, gravel pump Alluvium; QUAT. 

mines (Southeast Granite; MES. 

Asian Tin Belt). Limestones, sandstones, metasediments; 

PAL. 

Sungei Lembing (South- 03°52'N. 103005'S. Lode, vein CARB 

east Asian Tin Belt). 

Namibia 

Uis tin mine (Southern 21°13'S. l4°52'E. Lode, altered pegmatite Quartzitic schist; Kuiseb formation, Unknown 

Damaraland). Swakop group; MPROT (720-650 

Ma). 

Pegmatite; Namibian pegmatite. 

32 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Tectonic setting Local environment Principal mineral assemblages Comments Reference 

China-Continued 

Yunnan Two mountain ranges CSTR, MLBD, WLFM, BSMN, ARPR, Tin deposits are along anti- Kwak (1987). 

Arc-east- come together at Gejiu, PYRT, HMTT, MGNT, GLEN, clines or above granite 

trending and and two systems of SPLR. Gangue: QRTZ, TRML, cupolas. Gejiu has been 

northeast- faults cross the ranges. TOPZ, Li-MICA, FLRT. called the largest tin-skarn 

trending moun- dominated district in 

tain ranges. China. 

Indonesia-Continued 

Steeply dipping Northeast to southwest CSTR, MGNT, ILMN, ZRCN, MNZT PERM sediments of Belitung Omer-Cooper and 

sediments faults and associated Island are underlain by others (197 4). 

associated with north and south fissures. MES plutonic rocks. Tinlarge-scale fold bearing granites are the 

closures. source of the mineralized 

veins. 

CSTR, TNTL, ILMN, ZRCN Cassiterite concentrations are 

found in ancient and 

modem placers. 

CSTR, TRML, TOPZ, ILMN, ZRCN ----do------------ Prijono (1986). 

CSTR, MNZT, ILMN, ZRCN, XNTM, Placers formed in current Do. 

TRML. and ancient channels. Offshore extensions are 

believed to be of nearshore deposits flooded by 

post-PLEIS sea-level 

increases. 

Japan-Continued 

Island arc Maizuru structural belt CSTR, SPLR; WLFM, MGNT, PYRT; Cited as an example of a Sato and 

QRTZ,CLCT,FLRT,CLRT. xenothermal deposit. Over Akiyama 

100 veins are known. (1980). 

Xenothermal deposits are the 

most important tin deposits in Japan. 

----do------------ CSRT,PYRT,SPLR,GLEN,QRTZ Pegmatite veins occur in Saito and others 

Mesozoic shale and sand- (1960). 

stone that was intruded 

by a granite stock of 

Tertiary age. 

Malaysia-Continued 

Postorogenic intrusive CSTR, ILMN, MNZT, PYRT, ARPR, Erosion of greisen/vein lodes Govett and 

SDRT,QRTZ, WLFM,GOLD. resulted in formation of Robinson 

placer accumulation of (1980). 

heavy minerals on trough 

and pinnacle structures 

formed by the older 

limestones. 

----do------------ CSTR, ILMN, MNZT, ZRCN, ARPR, Erosion of greisen/vein lodes Do. 

SORT, QRTZ, WLFM, GOLD. and subsequent placer 

accumulations in trough 

and pinnacle structures of 

older limestone. 

----do------------ Deeply weathered granite CSTR,PYRT,CLCP,ARPR,SPLR, Similar to the Cornwell tin 

host. GLEN, PYTT. deposits. 

Namibia-Continued 

Damara orogenic belt CSTR, ALBT, MSCV, SRCT, CLRT; Pegmatites are linear to sig- Richards (1986). 

TOPZ, GRNT, TRML, APTf. moidal, varying from 

small to large, and swelling in the middle before 

pinching out. 

33 
Site name 

Jos Plateau deposits. 

(Bauchi, Benue, 

Kano, and Zaria 

States). 

San Rafael mine (Melgar 

Province). 

Neves-Corvo mine 

(Baixo Alentejo 

Province). 

Kuils River tin (Cape 

Province). 

Rooiberg tin mines 

(Transvaal). 

Van Rooi's Vley (Cape 

Province). 

Union tin mine 

(Transvaal). 

Zaaiplaats tin mine 

(Transvaal). 

Soviet Union southern 

mining regions (Chita, 

Khabarovsk). 

Latitude Longitude Deposit type 

Nigeria 

09°45'N. 08°52'E. Placer 

Peru 

14°12'S. 70°20'W. Lode, vein 

Portugal 

37°36'N. 07°58'W. Lode, massive sulfide 

South Africa 

33°56'S. 18°44'E. Lode, hydrothermal 

greisen veins. 

24°45'S. 27°45'E. Lode 

28°30'S. 20°53'E. Lode, vein, stockwork, 

and replacement pipes. 

24°29'S. 28°30'E. Lode, vein 

24°03'S. 28°45'E. Lode; veins, pipes, and 

disseminated ores. 

Soviet Union 

53°N. l24°E. Lode 

34 

Table 9. -Selected geologic and location information 

Host rock Age of mineralization 

Alluvium and eluvium; TERT-HOLO. JUR 

Granite; Nigerian younger granites; 

JUR. 

Basalt; Newer basalts; QUAT. 

Volcanics, extrusives, breccias, and OLIG-MIO 

andesitic agglomerates. (22.6±0.5 Ma). 

Granite; San Rafael stock; OLIG-MIO 

(25.9± 1 Ma). 

Volcanics; Pomarao group; DEY. CARB 

Granite; Cape granite suite; CAMB CAMB (553±8 

(553±8 Ma). Ma). 

Malmesbury group; LPROT -CAMB 

(595±45 Ma). 

Arkosic quartzite; Leeuwpoort EPROT (about 

formation; EPROT. 1,960 Ma). 

Shaley quartzite and shale; Blaauwbank 

shale member; EPROT. 

Quartzite, andesite, arkosite, dolomite; 

Smelterskop quartzite formation; 

EPROT (about 2,100 Ma). 

Paragneiss; Toeslaan formation; LPROT (U/Pb: 

MPROT. 940±50 Ma). 

Indurated tuff; Union tin tuff member; EPROT (2,050 

EPROT (about 2,300 Ma). Ma). 

Felsite (rhyolite); Rooiberg group 

EPROT (about 2,300 Ma). 

Leuco-granite to mildly alkali granite; EPROT (1,960 Ma) 

Bobbejaankop granite; EPROT 

(2,010-1,960 Ma). 

Granophyre; Rashoop granophyre suite; 

EPROT (about 2,120 Ma). 

Micro-granite; Lease granite; EPROT 

(2,010-1,960 Ma). 

Quartz porphyry granite; ECRET LCRET (97-91 

(109-105 Ma). Ma). 

Volcanic quartz porphyry tuff; LCRET 

(100-75 Ma). 
from ISM! records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Tectonic setting Local environment 

An orogenic Younger granite province 

granites in eratonic shield. 

Andean tin belt 

Eugeosynclinal Submarine, flysch and volcanics in a subsiding 

basin. 

Late orogenic or Plutonic and country rock 

post orogenic. veins. 

Intracratonic Bushveld granite intrusion 

into Rooiberg group and 

Leeuwpoort/Smelterskop 

formations. 

Intracratonic Ultra metamorphic/plutonic 

Kalahari Gordonia subprovince, 

Craton. Namaqualand metamorphic complex. 

Intracratonic Fractures in indurated tuff 

contain cassiterite. 

----do------------ Monoclinal arch of plutonic fractionated 

granite. 

Extrusion complex 

Principal mineral assemblages 

Nigeria-Continued 

CSTR, CLMB, minor WLFM, TNTL, 

THRT. 

Peru -Continued 

CSTR,CLCP,PYRT,QRTZ 

Portugal-Continued 

PYRT,CLCP,GLEN,SPLR,CSTR, 

ARPR, TRDR, STNT, BSMN. 

South Africa-Continued 

CSTR, WLFM, TRML, CLCP, ARPR, 

MLBD. 

CSTR, ANKR, TRML, APTT, CLCP, 

ARPR,PYTT,SPLR,GLEN, 

BRNT, MGNT, SCLT, ORCL. 

SCLT, WLFM, CSTR, MLBD, QRTZ, 

TRML, FLRT. 

CSTR, MGNT, PYRT, CLCP, CLRT, 

ANKR. 

CSTR,TRML,CLRT,QRTZ,FLRT, 

SRCT,SCLT,ARPR,CLCP, 

PYRT, GLEN, SPLR, ORCL. 

Soviet Union-Continued 

CSTR,QRTZ,FLRT,GLEN,BSMT, 

SCLT, INDT. 

35 

Comments Reference 

Tin mineralization occurs in MacLeod and 

the Younger granites. others (1971). 

Placers are the most common deposits, but primary 

mines are known. Some 

alluvial deposits are under 

basalt sheets. 

Consists of several mineral- Clark and others 

ized veins striking NW. (1983). 

for 1.5 km and dipping 

70-75° south to a depth of 

4,000 m. 

Discovered via gravity sur- Mining Journal 

veys. Polymetallic deposit (1988b). 

has three types of ore: 

stockwork, massive, and 

banded. 

Three types of tin deposits: Hill and Brunker 

endogranitic greisen veins; (1981). 

exogranitic stringer veins 

and lodes; and residual 

tin-wolframite scree. 

Ore is comprised of lodes Rozendal and 

and pockets in fractures others (1986). 

and is often controlled by 

bedding displacement. 

Genetically related to von Backstrom 

regional ultra metamor- (1950). 

phism and pegmatite and 

anatectic granite 

development. 

Mineralized only where frac- Pringle (1986). 

tures pass through Union 

tin tuff and not in sidewall 

of Rooiberg group 

rhyolite. 

Plutonic granite dome with Zaaiplaats Tin 

three types of cassiterite Mining 

mineralization: dissemi- Company 

nated, lenticular greisen, (1983). 

and pipe-form. 

Regions include Smimov (1977). 

Khaborovskiy Kray, 

Primorskiy Kray, and 

Chita Oblast and the following deposits: Khingan, 

Olonoi, Berezovo, 

Dzhalinda, Obeshayushchee, Lesnoe, Verkhnee 

(upper), and Nizhnee 

(lower). 
Site name 

Soviet Union northern 

mining regions 

(Magadan Oblast and 

Yakut, ASSR). 

Latitude 

Thai dredging operations 09°N. 

(Southeast Asian Tin 

Belt). 

Thai gravel pump opera- 08°N. 

tions (Southeast Asian 

Tin Belt). 

Longitude 

Thai hard-rock and open- 13°52'N. 99°07'E. 

cast operations (Southeast Asian Tin Belt). 

Geevor mine (St. Just 50009'N. 05°41'W. 

mining district). 

South Crofty mine (Cam- 50°14'N. 05°17'W. 

borne, Redruth mining 

district). 

Wheal Jane (St. Day 50°l4'N. 05°07'W. 

mining district). 

Lost River district 65°29'N. 167008'W. 

(Alaska). 

Kivu mines (Maniema- 26°00'S. 27°30'E. 

Kivu area). 

Kamativi tin mines l7°30'S. 27°07'E. 

(Wankie). 

TABLE 9. Selected geologic and location information 

Deposit type Host rock Age of mineralization 

Soviet Union-Continued 

Lode, vein 

Thailand 

Placer, dredge 

Placer, gravel pump 

Lode 

United Kingdom 

Lode, vein 

----do------------

----do------------

United States 

Lode, vein, greisen, 

skarn. 

Zaire 

Placer, gravel pump 

Zimbabwe 

Lode, pegmatite 

36 

Sandstone and siltstone; JUR. 

Granite; LJUR (143-138 Ma, K/Ar on 

biotite). 

Alluvial and eluvial; Pre-PLEIS. 

Granite; CRET-TERT. 

Granite, TRI. 

Detrital sediments; Pre-PLEIS. 

Granite; CRET-TERT. 

Granite; TRI. 

Granite; CRET-TERT 

Slate; Killas slate; DEV (about 360 

Ma). 

Granite; Lands End granite; CARB 

(300± 10 Ma, K/Ar, Rb/Sr, U/Pb). 

Granite; Cam Brae granite; CARB 

(300± 10 Ma, K/Ar, Rb/Sr). 

Slate; Killas slate; DEV (about 360 

Ma). 

Slate; Killas slate; DEV (330 Ma). 

Quartz porphyry inclined dikes; Elvans 

formation. 

Rhyolite porphyry dike; cassiterite dike; 

CRET-TERT. 

Limestone; Port Clarence limestone; 

EORD-MORD. 

Granite; LCRET (K/Ar on biotite). 

Alluvium and eluvium. 

Granite. 

Metasedimentary basement. 

Tin pegmatite. 

Schist; Kamativi schist belt; PREC. 

LJUR (143-138 

Ma). 

CRET 

TRI, CRET 

CRET 

CARB (270±5 Ma, 

Kl Ar, Rb/Sr, 

U/Pb). 

TRI (215±5 Ma, 

K!Ar, Rb/Sr, 

U/Pb). 

CARB (270±5 Ma, 

U/Pb). 

TRI (215±5 Ma, 

U/Pb). 

CARB (270± 10 

Ma). 

TRI (215±5 Ma). 

LCRET 

PREC 

PREC 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Tectonic setting 

Polousnaya megasynclinorium. 

Island arc 

····dO··········· 

Hercynian 

orogenic belt. 

····dO············ 

···-dO········----

Postorogenic 

granites in 

fold/thrust belt. 

Local environment Principal mineral assemblages Comments Reference 

Soviet Union-Continued 

Intrusion of granite into CSTR,CLRT,QRTZ;CSTR,CLRT, Much of the data here is for Smimov (1977). 

TRI-JUR terriginous SLPD;CSTR,TRML,SLPD, Deputat deposit, which 

sediments. QRTZ. consists Qf 150 ore 

bodies. 

Thaibmd-Continued 

Lateritic weathering of CSTR, ILMN, TNTL, ZRCN, ALNT, Sn, W, and occasionally Ta 

granites and pegmatites. SCLT, MNZT, SORT, GRNT, mineralization is associTRML. ated with TRI and CRET-

- TERT granites. 

CSTR, GRNT, TNLT, WLFM, SCLT. Many deposits include tanta- Nutalaya and 

lite that is recovered. others (1979). 

Some greisen zones within 

CRET granites contain 

large amounts of 

wolframite. 

CSTR, GRNT, ILMN, TNTL, TOPZ, Y ala Province deposits occur 

FLRT, TRML, APTT. at contact of LP AL sediments and CRET granite. 

Mineralization occurs 

almost exclusively within 

the sediments with minor 

veining extending from 

the granite source rock. 

United Kingdom -Continued 

Transverse lodes adjacent QRTZ, TRML, CSTR. Vein outcrop in sea cliff Dines (1956). 

to granite contact. faces. 

Lodes within granite, often QRTZ, TRML, CLRT, HMTT, ARPR, Do. 

close to margin. CLCP. 

One major lode, adjacent 

to quartz-porphyry 

dikes. 

Lodes adjacent to or 

within tin granite and 

associated dikes. 

Kamativi schist belt. 

QRTZ,TRML,CLRT,SPLR,ARPR, 

PYRT,CLCP,FLRT,CSTR. 

United States-Continued 

CSTR, STNT, WLFM, SLPD; QRTZ, 

TOPZ, MICA. 

Zaire-Continued 

Do. 

Badly kaolinized rock makes Sainsbury (1970). 

mining more costly; clay 

coats cassiterite grains 

making milling inefficient; 

small placers. 

CSTR, minor WLFM, Nb-TNTL, FRBR, Primary deposits are accessi- Angermeier and 

MNZT. ble after 1 m alluvial and others (1974). 

3 m eluvial deposits are 

Zimbabwe-Continued 

CSTR, TNTL, Li-minerals, trace BRLM; 

TRML, QRTZ, ALBT. 

37 

removed. 

Bellasis and van 

der Heyde 

(1962); Rijks 

and Van de 

Veen (1972). 
Abbreviations used throughout this table include: 

-,Not reported on the ISMI record form 

t, Metric tons 

g/t, Grams per metric ton 

TABLE 10. -Selected production and mineral-resource information 

Abbreviations for mining method: S, surface; U, underground; N, not yet producing. 

Annual production includes some or all of the following items (separated by semicolons): Production in metric tons of material mined (unless other 

processing stage is indicated); grade of reported material; and year of production (or range of years used to estimate average annual 

production). 

Site name 

Pirquitas mine (Jujuy Province) 

Ardlethan (New South Wales) 

Collingwood (Queensland) 

Doradilla (New South Wales) 

Gillian (Queensland) 

Greenbushes (Western Australia) 

Renison (Tasmania) 

Mount Bischoff (Tasmania) 

Queen Hill deposits (Tasmania) 

1932 

Year of 

discovery 

1912, 1964 

1885, 1980 

1974 (Sn) 

1974 

1888 

1890 

1871 

1895, 1965 

Mining method 

Argentina 

u 

Australia 

S, U 

N 

N 

N 

S (placer) 

u 

s 

N 

38 

1964 

Year of 

first production 

1912 (minor), 

1964 (major). 

None 

None 

None 

1888 (1964 

dredging). 

1962 

1871 

None 

Materials of economic interest 

Sn, Ag 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn, Cu, Pb,Zn 

Sn 

Sn, Ta, Nb, Li, kaolin 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn, Pb, Zn, Ag 
from ISM! records for tin deposits and districts 

Cumulative production includes some or all of the following items (separated by semicolons): production in metric tons of material mined (unless 

other processing state is indicated); grade of reported material; and years for reported cumulative production. 

Resources includes, for various resource categories, some or all of the following items (separated by semicolons): resource in metric tons; U.N. 

resource classification (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 1979; Schanz, 1980); grade (unless resource is specified as contained 

metal); and year of estimate. Grades reported for mining properties often are the grade of mill feed, while for undeveloped properties, 

in-place grades are usually reported. Dilution in the mill feed grades may be about 15 percent for underground mining. 

Annual production Cumulative Resources Comments production 

Argentina-Continued 

600; contained Sn; 1984. New smelter/refinery complex to be built 

130,000; ore (annual on site will reduce production costs and 

capacity). transportation costs of concentrates. 

Australia-Continued 

450,000; 0.47 percent 14,000; contained Sn; 3,000,000; R2S; 0.5 percent Sn; Closed in 1986. Deep low-grade ore bodies 

Sn (mill head); 1912-73. 1980. and tailings may warrant reassessment 

1972-86 25 ,000; contained Sn; 1 ,000,000; R2S; <0.5 percent Sn; when market improves. 

1964-86. 1981. 

None None 4,000,000; R2S; 0.73 percent Sn; Results of a 198~--'86 feasibility study are 

1984?. not known. 

None None 10-12,000,000; R2S; 0.3 percent Sn; 1983 resource estimate is for 10 percent of 

1978. strike length with a 50-m depth limit. 

1,800,000; R2S; 0.7 percent Sn; 1984 estimate includes more strike 

1983. length. 

3,900,000; R2S; 0.6 percent Sn; 

1984 (revision of 1983 estimate). 

None None 2,300,000; R1S; 0.81 percent Sn; Complex metallurgy, very fine grained cas1982. siterite and tin in goethite/limonite. 

351.3; 99.7 percent 17,689 (Sn concentrates); 8,812,000; R1E; 0.0268 percent Sn, Hard-rock Sn-Ta ore was downgraded to 

Sn; 1985. 1889-1975. 0.00369 percent Ta205; 1985 (soft- subeconomic since collapse of tin prices. 

97 ,200; 100 percent rock ore). 

Ta20 5; 1985. 2, 142,000; R1E; 0.06 percent Sn, 

11,835; 7 percent Li20; 0.0045 percent T~0 ; 1985 

1985. (tailings). 

41,900,000; RlE, 2.92 percent Li20; 

1986 (spodumene ore). 

38,970,000; R1S; 0.1175 percent Sn, 

0.044 percent T~0 ; 1985 (hardrock ore). 

4,000; Sn in concen- 51,292; Sn in concen- 18,560,000; R1E; 1.1 percent Sn; Production and resource estimates are from 

trates; 1968-85. trates; 1974-85. 1985. Australia's Bureau of Mines and 

350; Sn in concentrates; 21,119; Sn in concen- 11 ,300,000; R2E; 1.05 percent Sn; Resources. 

1961-68. trates; 1967-74. 1979. 

75; Sn in concentrates; 3, 179; Sn in concen1939-61. trates; Pre-1967. 

10; Sn in concentrates; 8,776,622; 1.21 per1920-39. cent Sn; 1967-85. 

<20; Sn; 1958-85. 6,062,000; ore grade 1,329,000; R2S; 1.00 percent Sn; Historically, metallurgical recovery was 

not reported; 1984 (dolomite ore). below 50 percent. Deposit was marginal 

1871-1985. 3,402,000; R2S; 0.48 percent Sn; prior to collapse in tin prices. 

62,000; Sn; 1984 (porphyry ore). 

1871-1985. 

None None 7,300,000; R1S; 0.70 percent Sn; Lack of infrastructure and low metal prices 

1982. are nongeological constraints. 

39 
Site name 

Taronga (New South Wales) 

Bolivian central region deposits 

(Morococala district). 

Bolivian dredges 

Bolivian northern region deposits 

(Morococala district). 

Bolivian southern region deposits 

Best Group (Rondonia and 

Para States). 

Brascan Group (Rondonia tin 

province). 

Brazilian prospects (Para and Goias 

States). 

Year of 

discovery 

Pre-1886 

About 1840 

1920's 

Mid-1800's 

About 1800 

1978 

(Ceriumbras). 

1800's 

1973 

TABLE 10. -Selected production and mineral-resource information 

Mining method 

Australia-Continued 

s 

Bolivia 

u 

S (dredging) 

u 

u 

Brazil 

S (gravel pump) 

S (gravel pump, 

wash plants, 

dredges). 

S (gravel pump, 

open pit). 

40 

Year of 

first production 

None 

Post-1840 

1924 

1800's 

About 1800 

1980 

1800's 

Materials of economic interest 

Sn, Ag, Cu 

Sn, Cu, W, Ag, Zn 

Sn 

Sn, Bi, Ag 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Annual production 

None 

1 ,824,300; 0.55 percent 

Sn; 1982-84. 

6,923,000; 0.02I percent 

Sn; I982-84. 

I6,323,000; 0.02I percent Sn (capacity). 

586,108; 0.78 percent 

Sn; I982-84. 

1,824,300; 0.55 percent 

Sn; 1982-84. 

299; 36 percent Sn; 

I980-82. 

87I; contained Sn; I984. 

3,333; 59.4 percent Sn; 

1979-84. 

None 

Cumulative 

production Resources 

Australia-Continued 

37 ,500,000; RlS; 0.153 percent Sn; 

1982. 

46,800,000; RlS; 0.145 percent Sn; 

1983 (refinement of 1982 estimate). 

I9,700,000; R2S; O.I8 lpercent Sn, 

0.06 percent Cu, 4.6 g/t Ag; 1980. 

Bolivia-Continued 

8,496; 60-80 percent Sn; I,141,646; RIE; 0.55 percent Sn; 

1982-84. I984. 

5,976,674; RIM; 0.55 percent Sn; 

I982. 

400,026, 782; RlS; 0.08 percent Sn; 

I982. 

2,830; 60-70 percent Sn; 57,709,I31; rlE; 0.02I percent Sn; 

I982-84. 1982. 

6,599; 60-80 percent Sn; 

I982-84. 

l,I94; contained Sn; 

1980-82, I984. 

18,500; 61 percent Sn; 

I971-84. 

2,891,744; RIE; 0.78 percent Sn; I982 

(measured and indicated). 

5,776,310; R2E; 0.78 percent Sn; I982 

(inferred). 

13,723,853; RlS; 0.48 percent Sn; 

I982 (waste and tailings). 

I,I4I,646; RlE; 0.55 percent Sn; 

I984. 

5,976,674; RIM; 0.55 percent Sn; 

I982. 

400,026,782; RIS; 0.08 percent Sn; 

I982 (waste piles, tailings, and lowgrade material). 

Brazil-Continued 

6,26I,OOO; RIE; 0.022 percent Sn; 

1982. 

18, I25,000; RIM; 0.024 percent Sn; 

1982. 

34,403,700; RIE; 0.042 percent Sn; 

I982. 

39,429,500; RIM; 0.045 percent Sn; 

I982. 

500,000; RIE; 0.9 percent Sn; I984 

(Potosi Hill). 

4,500; RIE; contained Sn; 1985 (Naturais deposit). 

39,429,500; RIM; 0.045 percent Sn; 

1982. 

4,000; R2E; contained Sn; I985 (Naturais deposit). 

55 I, 700; RIE; 1.25 percent Sn; I982 

(Serra Branca). 

I3,000,000; RIE; 0.06I percent Sn; 

I982 (Mocambo). I,750; 50 percent 

Sn; I987 (projected for Mocambo). 

8,85I,300; R2E; 0.98 percent Sn; 1982 

(Serra Branca). 

41 

Comments 

I982 feasibility study determined the lowgrade deposit was subeconomic. 

RlS represents waste material and tails. 

Once, 300 mining companies operated 

over 500 tin mines in this region. 

Pay zone is about 27.5 m thick with 3.5 m 

cover. Production could more than double if market improved. 

Waste and tailings may be retreated to try 

to improve recovery by 10 percent. 

Outlook is bleak for Bolivian tin mines. 

Only government assistance/subsidies 

maintain production. 

RlE is demonstrated ore at Ceriumbras 

deposit. Magnetic separaters could be 

used to remove ilmenite and increase the 

concentrate grade. 

Nine paleovalleys are developed to 60-m 

depths. 

In I984, annual production of I,877 tat 65 

percent Sn was projected for Serra 

Branca and Mocambo if and when the 

projects come on line. 
Site name 

Brumadinho Group (Rondonia and 

Goias States). 

C-75 Garimpo (Rondonia State) 

Paranapanema group 

Pitinga (Mapuero tin district, 

Amazonas). 

Rhodia-Espeng (Para State) 

Mawchi mine (Kayah Province) 

Tenasserim Valley 

East Kemptville (Nova Scotia) 

Mount Pleasant (New Brunswick) 

Dachang tin field (Guangxi 

Province). 

Gejiu district (Yunnan Province) 

Kelapa Kampit mine (Belitung) 

P.T. Tambang Timah-Bangka 

(Bangka). 

1970 

1987 

1980 

1978 

1979 

1954 

1127 

Year of 

discovery 

At least 2,000 

years ago. 

1869 

1700's 

TABLE 10.-Selected production and mineral-resource information 

Mining method 

Brazil-Continued 

S (dredging and 

open pit). 

S (gravel pump) 

S (onshore dredge) 

S (gravel pump) 

Burma 

u 

s 

Canada 

s 

u 

China 

u 

u 

Indonesia 

U (open stoping). 

1987 

1982 

1983 

1985 

Year of 

first production 

1983 (W) 

At least 2,000 

years ago alluvial 

deposits were 

worked. 

1977 (reopened) 

S (gravel pump and 1709 

dredge). 

42 

Materials of economic interest 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn, Nb, Ta, REE, zircon, 

xenotime. 

Sn 

Sn, W 

Sn, W 

Sn, Cu, Zn, Ag, topaz 

W, Sn 

Sn, Zn, Pb, Sb, Ag, Cu, 

W, In. 

Sn, Zn, Cu, Pb 

Sn, Ta 

Sn, Ta 
from ISM! records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Annual production 

1,767; about 63 percent 

Sn; 1980-84. 

7-10,000; contained Sn; 

1987. 

11, 770; contained Sn; 

1985. 

18,700; 63 percent Sn; 

151.6; 65 percent Sn; 

1983. 

727.8; 65 percent Sn; 

1984. 

4,400; two grades of 

concentrates: 40 percent Sn and 65 percent 

Sn (capacity). 

Cumulative 

production 

8,833; about 63 percent 

Sn; 1980-84. 

7-10,000; contained Sn; 

I987. 

58,330; contained Sn; 

1971-85. 

I ,222,500; 0.04 percent 

Sn; I979-82. 

879.4; 65 percent Sn; 

I983-84. 

None (Sn) None (Sn) 

I ,000,000; recovery 

grades-0.6 percent 

Sn, 2 percent Zn, 0.5 

percent Pb, 0.3 percent Sb; 1985. 

35,000; 1.44 percent Sn; 

I979-82. 

54,900,000; 0.0348 percent Sn; I978-82. 

16,365; contained Sn; 

1985. 

350,000; contained Sn; 

1750-1960. 

2,000,000; 1.21 percent 

Sn; I906-42. 

I40,000; 1.44 percent 

Sn; I979-82. 

274,542,000; 0.0348 

percent Sn; 1978-82. 

I6,365; contained Sn; 

1985. 

Resources 

Brazil-Continued 

60,034,200; RlE, 0.026 percent Sn; 

I982 (Rondonia). 

5,394,400; RlE; 0.84 percent Sn; I982 

(Goias). 

105,609,300; RIM; 0.026 percent Sn; 

I982. 

IOO,OOO; RIE; contained Sn; I987 

500,000; RIE; contained Sn; I987 

(Unofficial estimates are several 

times larger. Calculations in this 

report are based on I million metric 

tons contained Sn RlE.) 

11,495,000; RIE; 0.034 percent Sn; 

I982. 

I5,I52,000; RIM; 0.034 percent Sn; 

I982. 

Burma-Continued 

600,000; R1; 0.07 percent Sn, 0.52 

percent W; I983. 

Canada-Continued 

56,000,000; RlE; O.I65 percent Sn, 

0.05 percent Cu, 0.09 percent Zn; 

I984. 

5,900,000; RIM; 0.79 percent Sn; 

I985. 

China-Continued 

50-IOO,OOO,OOO; RlE; 0.5-1.0 percent 

Sn; 1985. 

>20,000,000; RlS; 0.35 percent Sn; 

I985 (tailings under study by the 

U.N.). 

IOO,OOO,OOO; I percent Sn, 2-5 percent 

Cu, 0.5 percent Pb; 1985. 

Indonesia-Continued 

1,390,000; RlE; 1.67 percent Sn; 

1982. 

2,259,000; RlE; 0.022 percent Sn; 

1982. 

43 

Comments 

Cachoeirha and Sao Domingo are 

producing deposits. 

Mine life of about 5 years is expected as of 

I987. Mining is inefficient with material 

being worked repeatedly. 

Paranapanema has six operating alluvialtype properties. Three are in Rondonia, 

two are in Para, and one in Pitinga in 

Amazonas. Collapse of world tin 

markets in I985 allowed Pitinga to 

become the world's largest tin mine for 

the world's largest tin-mining company. 

Demonstrated economic resources (RIE) 

are projected to be sufficient for capability production until 1989. 

The Mawchi pluton is one of the smallest 

in the Burmese Sn-W granitoid belt. 

Heinda mine was Burma's largest tin producer in 1978. It has since been modernized with a subsequent increase in 

production. 

I,500 t of Cu concentrates and 2,400 t of 

Zn concentrates could also be produced 

annually. 

Resources are total of six to eight separate 

zones. Feasibility study on tin production due in I987-88. 

China has about 8 percent of world tin production and 15 percent of the world's tin 

resources (up to 2.5 million t of contained tin). 

About one-half of the original ore has 

been mined. 

Production capacity is I7 5,000 t ore per 

year. Market conditions have delayed 

plans to expand production by a factor 

of five. 

In 198I , gravel pumps accounted for 

about 50 percent of tin production. 
Site name 

P. T. Tambang Timah-Belitung 

(Belitung). 

P.T. Koba Tin (Bangka) 

Akenobe mine (Hyogo Prefecture, 

Honshu Island). 

Suzuyama mine (Kyushii Island) 

Malaysian dredges (Southeast 

Asian Tin Belt). 

Malaysian gravel pump mines 

(Southeast Asian Tin Belt). 

Sungei Lembing (Southeast Asian 

Tin Belt). 

Vis tin mine (Southern Damaraland) 

Jos Plateau deposits. (Bauchi, Benue, 

Kano, and Zaria States). 

San Rafael mine (Melgar Province) 

Year of 

discovery 

1800's 

1970's 

1908 

1655 

1900's 

1700's 

1911 

1902 

1965 

TABLE 10.-Selected production and mineral-resource information 

Mining method 

Indonesia-Continued 

Year of 

first production 

S (gravel pump and 1800's 

dredge). 

S (gravel pump and 1974 

dredge). 

Japan 

u 1936 

u 1840's 

Malaysia 

S (dredge) 1900's 

S (gravel pumps) 1900's 

u 

Namibia 

s 1924 

Nigeria 

s 1905 

Peru 

u 1970 

44 

Materials of economic interest 

Sn, ilmenite, monazite 

Sn, ilmenite, monazite 

Sn, Cu, Zn, Au, Ag, W 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn, Nb, Ta 

Sn, Nb, W 

Sn, Cu 
from ISM! records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Annual production Cumulative Resources Comments production 

Indonesia-Continued 

52,947,000; 0.0104 per- 270,000,000; 0.0104 I,764,000; RIE; O.OI2 percent Sn; 

cent Sn; I978-81. percent Sn; I978-82. I982. 

2I,6I6,656; RIM; O.OI32 percent Sn: 

I981. 

6,482; Sn in concen- 3I,910; contained Sn; 23,400; RlE; contained Sn; I982. Dredges account for the majority of Indotrates; I98I-82. I980-85. 26,300; RIM; contained Sn; I982. nesian production. In I980, P. T. Koba 

4,053; Sn in concen- was the largest foreign mining company 

trates; I985. in Indonesia. 

Japan-Continued 

425; contained Sn; 849; contained Sn; 40,000; R1E; contained Sn; I980. Akenobe supplied 50 percent of total 

1980-8I. I980-81. 200,000; RIE; contained Zn; I980. domestic production for many years. 

I2,438,000; 0.37 percent 150,000; RlE; contained Cu; I980. 

Sn, 1.09 percent Cu, 

2.0 percent Zn; 

1946-80. 

8,000; I.OO percent Sn; 37 ,600; I.OO percent Sn; 168,000; R1E; I.O percent Sn; In 1960, total itlentified economic resour1982-84. I980-84. I982-84. ces for five Japanese tin mines were esti280,000; R2E; I.25 percent Sn; 1982. mated to be 2.7 million metric tons at 

1.2 tin. 

Malaysia-Continued 

I2,870; >98 percent Sn; 298,900; >98 percent 300,000; RlE; >98 percent Sn; I985. During 1970-84, about 32 percent of 

I983-84. Sn; I970-84. 209,000; rlE; contained Sn; 1985. Malaysia's tin was produced by dredges. 

17 ,430; >98 percent Sn; 96,200; >98 percent Sn; I2,200; R2S; >98 percent Sn; I985. Average dredge grade: I971-73, O.I8 

1980-82. 1966-69. percent Sn; 1977-78, 0.155 percent Sn. 

21 ,600; >98 percent Sn; 504,400; >98 percent 900,000; RIE; >98 percent Sn; 1985. Between I970-84, gravel pumps accounted 

1983-84. Sn; 1970-84. 800; RIS; >98 percent Sn; I985. for about 54 percent of Malaysian tin 

3I,900, >98 percent Sn; 162,467; >98 percent 9,100; R2E; >98 percent Sn; 1985. production. Average grade of Malaysian 

1980-82. Sn; 1966-69. gravel pump ore: 197I-73, 0.30 percent 

Sn; I977-78, O.I8 percent Sn. 

I98,344; 0.71 percent 287,500; >3.0 percent 1,073,997; R1E; 0.71 percent Sn; Mine was indefinitely closed in 1987 due 

Sn; 1980. Sn; I887-I905. I982. to high operating costs and poor 

210,368; 0. 71 percent 2,933,I27; 0.7I percent reserves. 

Sn; I967-79. Sn; 1967-80. 

Namibia-Continued 

1, 180; 65 percent Sn; 27 ,391.24; 60 percent 3,000,000; R1E; 0.75 percent Sn; Cumulative production excludes 1930-33 

I966-87. Sn; 1924-84. I977. and I946-52. If mining took place in 

4,7I7; 66.77 percent; Sn; 13, 700,000; RIE; O.I5 percent Sn; those years, it was not reported. 

1980-84. I977. 

Nigeria-Continued 

9,261.7; contained Sn; 92,617; contained Sn; I10,829; RlE; contained Sn; I969 As of I976, 98 percent of Nigeria's tin 

1946-55 (total Nige- I946-55 (total Nige- (total Nigerian RIE). production came from Jos Plateau. 

rian production). rian production). Columbite is an important byproduct. 

8,487 .2; contained Sn; 84,872; contained Sn; 

I956-65 (total Nige- I956-65 (total Nigerian production). rian production). 

8,883.2; contained Sn; 53,299; contained Sn; 

I966-7I (total Nige- I966-71 (total Nigerian production). rian production). 

Peru-Continued 

1 ,500; contained Sn; > 10,000; 42.2 percent 223,000; RIE; 10.1 percent Sn, 0.28 Began as a copper mine and began to yield 

1981. Sn; 1970-82. percent Cu; I980. substantial cassiterite in the early 1970's. 

900; contained Sn; 1980 Resources are for two tin-rich pockets. 

45 
Site name 

Neves-Corvo (Baixo Alentejo 

Province). 

Kuils River tin (Cape Province) 

Rooiberg tin mines (Transvaal) 

Van Rooi's Vley (Cape Province) 

Union tin mine (Transvaal) 

Zaaiplaats tin mine (Transvaal) 

Soviet Union southern mining 

regions (Chita, Khabarovsk). 

Soviet Union northern mining regions 

(Magadan Oblast and Yakut, ASSR). 

Thai dredging operations (Southeast 

Asian Tin Belt). 

1977 

1905 

1905 

1943 

1908 

1906 

Year of 

discovery 

Thai gravel pump operations 1800's 

(Southeast Asian Tin Belt). 

Thai hard-rock and open-cast 1800's 

operations (Southeast Asian Tin Belt). 

Geevor mine (St. Just mining 

district). 

Pre-1500 

TABLE 10.-Selected production and mineral-resource information 

Mining method 

Portugal 

u 

South Africa 

S, U 

u 

S, U 

u 

S, U 

Soviet Union 

s 

u 

Thailand 

S (dredging) 

S (gravel pump) 

S, U 

United Kingdom 

u 

46 

Year of 

first production 

1990 (planned) 

1905 

1905 

1943 

1910 

1906 

Pre-1500 

Materials of economic interest 

Cu,Sn,Ag,Zn, Pb,Fe 

Sn, W 

Sn, Cu 

W, Sn 

Sn 

Sn, W, sulfides 

Sn 

Sn 

Sn, Ta, W 

Sn, Ta, W 

Sn, W, Ta 

Sn, Cu, As 
from ISM! records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Annual production Cumulative 

production 

5,000; tin-in-concentrate; None 

1990 (planned). 

258.5; 70 percent Sn; 

1913-19. 

528,000; 0.5 percent Sn; 

1982-86. 

30; 65 percent Sn; (1 

year). 

54,000; ore; 1986 

216; contained Sn; 

1983-86 (recovery 

grade is 0. 241 percent 

Sn). 

22,000; contained Sn; 

1981-85 (production 

for the entire Soviet 

Union). 

134,544,400; 0.024 percent Sn; 1981-82. 

22,823; 76 percent Sn; 

1982-84. 

210; 72 percent W03 ; 

1982-84. 

2,94 7 ,000; 0.15 percent 

Sn; 1981-82. 

0.7085; Ag; 1984 

(Burothai mine). 

7; W, 1983 (Sichon 

mine). 

823; contained Sn; 

1982-85 (from ore of 

0.71 percent Sn). 

140; contained Sn; 

1982-85 (from mine 

dump with 0.25 percent Sn). 

800; 70-75 percent Sn; 

1905-56. 

11,200,000; 0.62 percent 

Sn; 1905-86. 

150; 65 percent Sn; (5 

years). 

10,000; about 43 percent 

Sn; 1953-83. 

15,627; 43.1 percent Sn; 

24 years of production. 

31 ,660; Sn concentrates; 

1908-83 (from 

3,324,624 t of ore). 

Ill ,000; contained Sn; 

1981-85 (production 

for the entire Soviet 

Union). 

269,088,800; 0.024 percent Sn; 1981-82. 

69,286; contained Sn; 

1981-84. 

3,795; contained Sn; 

1982-85. 

Resources 

Portugal-Continued 

2,800,000; RIE; 2.6 percent Sn; 

1989. 

South Mrica-Continued 

705,000; RIB; 2.44 percent Sn; 1973. 

2,820,000; RIS; 2.4 percent Sn; 1981. 

2,500,000; R1B; 0.21 percent Sn, 0.38 

percent W03 ; 1984. 

1,000,000; RIE; 0.25 percent Sn02 ; 

1987. 

4-6,000,000; riB; 0.15 percent Sn02 ; 

1986 (tied up with quartz in tailings). 

Soviet Union-Continued 

150,000; RIE; contained Sn; 1989 

(one-half of national estimate). 

150,000; RIB; contained Sn; 1989 

(one-half of national estimate). 

Thailand -Continued 

2,583,743,000; RIE; 0.024 percent Sn; 

1982. 

1,630,500,000; RIB; 0.015 percent Sn; 

1984. 

54,220,000; RIB; 0.136 percent Sn; 

1982. 

12.05; RIB; Ag; 1984 (Burothai mine). 

200; RIB; W; 1984 (Sichon mine). 

United Kingdom-Continued 

446,000; RIS; 0.75 percent Sn; 1986 

(mine). 

250,000; RIS; 0.25 percent Sn; 1986 

(dump reworking). 

47 

Comments 

Metallurgical problems (which are being 

researched) preclude more resources 

from being economic. Deposit also contains 35 million metric tons with 8.4 

percent Cu. 

Highest production was in 1919. 

As ore grade decreased, tonnage increased 

to keep production stable. 

Wolframite and scheelite in roughly equal 

amounts; cassiterite slightly subordinate 

to tungsten. 

Concentrates from low-grade ore range 

from 43.1 to 50 percent Sn. 

In 1983, the concentrate-dressing section 

was rebuilt, increasing annual production. 

As of 1980, about 70 percent of Soviet tin 

is mined from lode deposits, although 

offshore exploration and dredging are 

planned. 

Tin is one of the few metals for which the 

Soviet Union is significantly dependent 

on imports. An additional rail line has 

made Siberia more accessible. About 

one-third of the tin in the ore is lost. 

Most Thai dredging operations stockpile 

waste containing heavy minerals that 

may someday be salable. 

Production includes dredge and open-cast 

production for some deposits. 

Production probably decreased by 30-40 

percent after the tin crisis of Oct. 1985. 

High costs of these operations will keep 

them operating at reduced levels until tin 

prices rise. 

Mine ceased to be profitable Oct. 1985. It 

is an old, deep mine with restricted shaft 

access. 
Site name Year of 

discovery 

South Crofty mine (Cambome, Redruth Pre-1592 

mining district). 

Wheal Jane (St. Day mining district) About 1740 

Lost River district (Alaska) 1903 

Kivu mines (Maniema~Kivu area) 1936 

Kamativi tin mines (W ankie) 1936 

TABLE 10.-Selected production and mineral-resource information 

Mining method 

United Kingdom-Continued 

u 

u 

United States 

u 

Zaire 

s 

Zimbabwe 

S, U 

48 

Year of 

first production 

1710 

About 1740 

1904 

1938 

About 1940 

Materials of economic interest 

Sn, W, U 

Sn, Zn, Cu 

Sn, W, Be, F 

Sn, Nb, W, monazite, Au, 

Ta. 

Sn, Ta 
from ISM/ records for tin deposits and districts-Continued 

Annual production 

1,645; contained Sn; 

1983-85 (from ore of 

0.83 percent Sn). 

1 ,830; contained Sn; 

1983-85 (from ore of 

0.84 percent Sn). 

7,027; contained Zn; 

1983-85 (from ore of 

2.8 percent Zn). 

635; contained Cu; 

1983-85 (from ore of 

0.26 percent Cu). 

46,000; 1.0-2.0 percent 

Sn; 1953, 1955. 

3,572; 76 percent Sn, 

0.478 Au; 1984-85. 

2,582; 76 percent Sn; 

1983. 

Cumulative 

production 

9,368; contained Sn; 

1983-85 (from ore of 

0.86 percent Sn). 

5,505; contained Sn; 

1983-85 (from ore of 

0.84 percent Sn). 

315.4; contained Sn; 

1904-55 (lode 

deposit). 

83.7; contained Sn; 

1904-55 (placers). 

12,314; 76 percent Sn, 

Au produced in small 

quantities; 1982-85. 

5, 793, Sn concentrates; 

1980-81. 

3,716; 64 percent cassiterite; 10 percent 

columbite, 10 percent 

wolframite, 16 percent 

monazite; 1969-72. 

1,239; sales of Sn metal; 4,503; contained Sn; 

1983. 1980-83. 

1,173; contained Sn; 

1982. 

1,157; contained Sn; 

1981. 

934; contained Sn; 1980 

4,414; 66.8 percent Sn 

in concentrates from 

ore of 0.32 percent 

Sn; 195fHi 1. 

3,000; about 63-69 percent Sn, 2-3 percent 

Ta20 5-Nb20 5 ; 

1940-51. 

Resources 

United Kingdom -Continued 

3,850,000; R1M; 1.55 percent Sn at 

1.0 percent cutoff; 1987. 

Comments 

Reserves are best in United Kingdom tin 

mining. 

2,380,000; RIM; 0.89 percent Sn, 2.83 The mine is modem and well equipped, 

percent Zn, 0.28 percent Cu; 1987. but mine layout and plant limit production capacity. 

United States-Continued 

2,400; RlE; contained Sn; 1963 (ore 

grade 1.3 percent Sn). 

Zaire-Continued 

265,000; R1E; contained Sn; 1986 

(Manono deposit). 

510,000; RlE; contained Sn; about 

1986 (total resources for Zaire). 

Zimbabwe-Continued 

100,000,000; R2E; 0.114 Sn, 0.603 

Li02; 1962 (maximum inferred 

tonnage of a single pegmatite). 

49 

Only the cassiterite and Ida Bell dikes are 

of importance for tin or tungsten mining. 

Mine operated intermittently to 1955. 

Zaire is a high-cost producer because of 

high infrastructure costs-especially 

transportation costs-and because the 

small size of alluvial placers does not 

allow large shovels and more economical 

mining techniques to be used. 

Production is 70 percent from the surface, 

30 percent from underground. In 1981, a 

new open pit was built to provide 

10,000 t per day of 0.192-percent Sn 

ore. 
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ed.: New York, Fairchild Publications, 290 p. 

Anderson, J. A., 1986, The discovery of the Zeehan cassiterite 

deposits-An example of metal and deposit multiplicity 

from a historical mining district: Aberfoyle Limited, 

unpub. draft, 8 p. 

Angermeier, H. 0., Krauss, U., Krusona, M., and Schmidt, 

H., 1974, Rohstoffwirtschaftliche Landerberichte, v. III, 

Zaire: Hannover, Germany, Federal Republic, Bundesanstalt fUr Bodenforschung, 120 p. 

Baldwin, W. L., 1983, The world tin market-Political pricing 

and economic competition: Durham, North Carolina, 

Duke University Press, 273 p. 

Barry, B. T. K., and Thwaites, C. J., 1983, Tin and its alloys 

and compounds: West Sussex, England, Ellis Horwood 

Ltd., 268 p. 

Bellasis, J. W. M., and van der Heyde, C., 1962, Operations 

at Kamativi Tin Mines Ltd., Southern Rhodesia: [Zimbabwe] Chamber of Mines Journal, v. 4, no. 9 (Sept.), 

p. 36-41. 

Bettencourt, J. S., Damasceno, E. C., Fontanelli, W. S., 

Franco, J. R., and Pereira, N. M., 1981, Brazilian tin 

deposits and potential, in Fifth World Conference on Tin, 

19-23 Oct., 1981, meeting, Kuala Lumpur: London, 

International Tin Council, paper 3 (ii), 69 p. 

Bleiwas, D. I., Sabin, A. E., and Peterson, G. R., 1986, Tin 

availability-Market economy countries; A Minerals 

Availability Program appraisal: U.S. Bureau of Mines 

Information Circular 9086, 50 p. 

Blockley, J. G. , 1980, The tin deposits of Western AustraliaWith special reference to the associated granites: Geological Survey of Western Australia Mineral Resources 

Bulletin 12, 184 p. 

British Geological Survey, 1985, World mineral statistics 

1979-83: London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 

275 p. 

Brown, W. M., Kwak, T. A. P., and Askins, P. W., 1984, 

Geology and geochemistry of a F-Sn-W skarn systemThe hole 16 deposit, Mount Gamet, North Queensland, 

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INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MINERALS INVENTORY 

PARTICIPATING AGENCIES 

Australia 

Bureau of Mineral Resources, 

Geology and Geophysics 

Canada 

Energy, Mine and Resources Canada 

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und Rohsto e 

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United Kingdom 

British Geological Survey 

United States 

Bureau of Mines 

Geological Survey 

SUMMARY REPORTS 

This circular is one of several reports on selected mineral commodities to be published in the U.S. Geological Survey 930 series. The 

circulars published to date are listed below; year of publication is shown in 

parentheses. Copies are available free on application to the Books and 

Open-File Reports Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Box 

25425, Denver, CO 80225-0046 U.S.A. 

930-A. Manganese (1984) 

930-B. Chromium (1984) 

930-C. Phosphate (1984) 

930-D. Nickel (1985) 

930-E. Platinum-Group Metals (1986) 

930-F. Cobalt (1987) 

930-G. Titanium (1988) 

930-H. Graphite (1988) 

930-1. Lithium (1990) 

930-J. Tin (1990) 

Requests for copies of International Strategic Minerals Inventory summary reports and for further information 

may also be addressed to: 

Gordon C. Battey 

Assistant Director 

Minerals Resource Assessment Branch 

Bureau of Mineral Resources 

P.O. Box 378 

Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601 

AUSTRALIA 

A. Ignatow 

Director, Rare and Minor Metals Division 

Mineral Policy Sector 

Energy, Mines & Resources Canada 

460 O'Connor Street-Room 630 

Ottawa, Ontario, KIA OE4 

CANADA 

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und Rohstoffe 

Postfach 51 01 53 

D-3000 Hannover 51 

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY 

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Private Bag X4 

Braamfontein 2017 

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA 

Richard N. Crockett 

Head, MISE Programme 

British Geological Survey 

Keyworth 

Nottingham NG12 5GG 

UNITED KINGDOM 
Sutphin and others-INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MINERALS INVENTORY SUMMARY REPORT-TIN-U.S. Geolo