Tin Statistics and Information

Tin is one of the earliest metals known and used. Because of its hardening effect on copper, tin was used in bronze implements as early as 3,500 B.C., although the pure metal was not used until about 600 B.C.  About 35 countries mine tin throughout the world.  Nearly every continent has an important tin-mining country.  Tin is a relatively scarce element with an abundance in the earth's crust of about 2 parts per million (ppm), compared with 94 ppm for zinc, 63 ppm for copper, and 12 ppm for lead.  Most of the world's tin is produced from placer deposits; at least one-half comes from Southeast Asia.  The only mineral of commercial importance as a source of tin is cassiterite (SnO₂), although small quantities of tin are recovered from complex sulfides such as stannite, cylindrite, franckeite, canfieldite, and teallite.

Most tin is used as a protective coating or as an alloy with other metals such as lead or zinc.  Tin is used in coatings for steel containers, in solders for joining pipes or electrical/electronic circuits, in bearing alloys, in glass-making, and in a wide range of tin chemical applications.   Secondary, or scrap, tin is an important source of the tin supply.

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Monthly Publications

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Mineral Industry Surveys

• Tin
    PDF Format:
      2026: | Jan | Feb | Mar |
      2025: | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
    XLSX Format:
      2026: | Jan | Feb | Mar |
      2025: | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |

Annual Publications

Mineral Commodity Summaries

• Tin
    PDF Format:
       | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |2013 |2014 |2015 |2016 |2017 |2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
• Appendixes

Minerals Yearbook

• Tin
    PDF Format:
       | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
    XLS Format:
       | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 tables-only release |
• Archive
• Archive
       | 1932-1993 |
• Recycling-Metals

Special Publications

• Conflict Minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Tin Processing Plants, a Critical Part of the Tin Supply Chain
  Fact Sheet 2015-3022
• Critical Mineral Resources of the United States--Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply
  Professional Paper 1802
  • Tin
• Critical Minerals Review 2021
• Flow Studies for Recycling Metal Commodities in the United States
  C-1196-A-M
• Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States
  Data Series 140
  • Tin
• Metal Prices in the United States through 2010
  Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5188
• Review of Selected Global Mineral Industries in 2011 and an Outlook to 2017 
  Open-File Report 2013-1091
• Statistical Compendium
  • Tin