US tin producer to receive $19m from Department of Defence

Secondary refined tin and solder producer, Nathan Trotter & Co., has been selected by the US Department of Defense to receive funding to expand the country’s tin smelting and refining capacity.
The project will include the construction of comprehensive tin smelting and refining facilities in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in order to de-risk the tin supply chain, according to the company and the DoD. The company will share in the costs of both the preliminary engineering study and the equipment for the project.

In 2023 the United States consumed 35,800 t refined tin despite producing only 10,000 t, with the remainder imported from mainly South America and Indonesia.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, Dr Laura Taylor-Kale, said: “Tin refinement and processing capacity is essential for both defense and commercial aviation and microelectronics. The first Defense Production Act investment in the tin industrial base will directly counter the United States’ reliance on foreign tin refiners and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities.” ITA is interested to see further focus on smelting and refining capacity ex-China, particularly in the world’s second largest tin consuming nation which is over 70% reliant on imports. Concerns about supply chain risk continue to grow, likely heightened by the current supply-side disruptions in Indonesia and Myanmar which will likely see the refined tin market fall into a 10,400 t deficit in 2024.