Evening star., 1941-09-03
Metal Experts Plan
To Meet Possible Tin
Shortage for Cans
Silver Could Be Used
With Lead in Solder
Without Great Cost
By the Associated Press,

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Sept. 3.-Metal eX-
perts said today they we're planning
to provide for possible shortage
Of tin for cans, although it still was
a thing of the future. The name Of
the container might even have to be
changed.
A very large portion of the tin
used in cans goes into the sealing
solder rather than into the inside
coating. Experiments have been
completed TO replace this solder, if
necessary, with one of silver and
lead
Tin solder is made in three pro-
portions: 90 per cent tin and so per
cent lead, so per cent tin and so per
cent lead and so per cent tin and 40
per cent lead. The silver solder
planned would use 2.5 per cent silver
and the rest lead. Even taking into
consideration the increased cost Of
processing the silver. the soldier
would not be appreciably more eX-
pensive.
Tin in Coating Is Slight.
A silver solder is not a new idea,
metal men point out. 1t has been
used rather sparingly in industrial
manufacturing but silversmiths have
employed it for quite some time.
The tin plate used in coating the
inside OF a can used to average only
1.5 per cent Of the container. To-
day this has been lowered to l.35
per cent. So small a saving, never
theless, was said to have made it un-
likely that shellac or another ma
terial would be used for the coating.
OF course, ten men point out, a
severe shortage probably would see
the emergence of synthetics replace
ing the can entirely.
A shortage of tin is not anticipated
IN the next year or so. Estimates of
tin stocks in this country vary from
100000 tons to 114,000 tons, while our
average annual consumption hovers
around 100000 tons. With econ-
omies, these supplies should last US
close to year and a half, some be-
lieve, by which time the situation
may have changed.
Price Ceiling on Tin.
Late in 1899, when the United
States started its tremendous in
dustrial expansion for national de-
fense, many feared primarily a
shortage in tin. They said then, in
effect, we produce our own copper,
aluminium, iron and steel, so we do
not have to worry about them. but
TIN has to come so far, the major
portion all the way across the Pa
c1flc Ocean from British Malaya and
the East Indies.
Today we have priorities on most
OF the other metals but only a price
ceiling on tin. On August IS, the
maximum price for Straits tin (fronl
Malaya) was fixed at 50 cents a
pound, about the market average.
TN has been arriving in this coun-
try at a normal rate, despite the
shortage Of ship bottoms to carry it.
This tin is proCessed in Malaya and
the Netherlands East Indies since it
is cheaper to ship the refined metal
than to carry the ore. Yesterday,
1t was said, 5000 tons arrived in this
country. Estimates of tin a1oat run
about $4,000 tons.
World production of tin during
July totaled 1900 long tons, COM
pared with 1900 tons in the like
1910 period Production for the first
seven months of this year was 147.-
900 long tons, compared with 125 100
tons In the same period in 1910, the
I'm Research Institute estimates.
The United States takes most of this
since the war has elimina. ed many
OF the other former major buyers.