Tin is a silvery-white, malleable metal, hard to oxidise. Its symbol is Sn (from Latin: stagnum), and it used to be called plumbum candidum (white Lead) in ancient times. Tin melts at a low temperature of about 232 °C (450 °F) and also for this reason over 50% of it is used today in solder. Other applications include plating, chemicals, Brass and Bronze alloys, etc. Tin extraction and use can be dated to the beginnings of the Bronze Age around 3000 BC.

TIN: TRADE FACTS

Most of the world’s Tin is traded on the London Metal Exchange, and prices are affected by International Tin Council’s decisions since 1956. Tin is unique for the complex agreements that have characterised its trade in the last 100 years. A mine in Bisie (Congo) with a 15.000 tonnes output is indeed currently controlled by a renegade militia.