The tin market has been in deficit for the past decade, and supply is expected to remain constrained as demand rises. Due to its many positive characteristics, there are a slew of important uses for tin. For example, the metal is malleable, ductile and not easily oxidized in air; it’s also lightweight, durable and fairly resistant to corrosion. Those qualities make tin, which is obtained from the mineral cassiterite, a good candidate for use in solder, as well as tinplate, chemicals, brass and bronze and other niche areas. In terms of where tin is produced, China was the world’s top tin producer in 2022; the country put out 95,000 metric tons (MT) of the metal. Indonesia is close on China’s heels at 74,000 MT, and third on the list is Burma at 31,000 MT. Total world output for the year was 310,000 MT, up by only 5,000 MT from the previous year, and world tin reserves sit at 4.6 million MT. The world’s top tin-producing companies include China’s Yunnan Tin (SZSE:000960), Indonesia’s PT Timah (IDX:TINS) and Malaysia's Malaysia Smelting (SGX:NPW). Like tungsten, tantalum and gold, tin is a conflict mineral. Armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by trading these minerals. Currently, the Dodd-Frank Act in the US requires public companies that source minerals from the DRC to produce independently audited reports about the ownership and origin of these mined commodities; these documents must be provided to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.