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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 stanite, cylindrite, frankeite, 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. |
Publications
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Annual Publications
- Tin
PDF Format:
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | - Appendixes
- Tin
PDF Format:
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
XLS Format:
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | - Archive
| 1932-1993 | - Recycling-Metals
Monthly Publications
- Tin
PDF Format:
2007: | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May-Jun-Jul | Aug-Sep-Oct |
2006: | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
XLS Format:
2007: | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May-Jun-Jul | Aug-Sep-Oct |
2006: | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Special Publications
- 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 - Metal Prices in the United States through 1998
- Tin (PDF)
- Statistical Compendium
Contacts
- USGS Mineral Commodity Specialist
James F. Carlin, Jr.
Phone: 703-648-4985
Fax: 703-648-7757
Email: jcarlin@usgs.gov
- USGS Mineral Resource Specialist
