Since the last Tin Monitor, the tin price has continued to slide, falling to a low of US$ 15,635/tonne in late August. In response, major smelters, including YTC and PT Timah, have announced significant cuts to their refined tin output. The Chinese concentrate market has been particularly tight this year due to the closure of the Baiyinchagan mine earlier in the year, along with the temporary closure of nearby mines and falling imports from Myanmar. To entice material into smelters, treatment charges have been lowered significantly from their normal levels (currently around 13,500 yuan/tonne or US$ 1,900/tonne, down from roughly 17,000 yuan/tonne or US$ 2,400), yet despite this, smelters have reportedly continued to struggle to source tin concentrate.
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