LONDON (Reuters) – The last British tin mine closed in 1998. When South Crofty ceased operating, it brought the curtain down on two millennia of tin mining in the southwestern county of Cornwall.
However, hope springs eternal in Poldark country, as the region has been dubbed after the hugely successful television series based on the eponymous novels of Winston Graham.
Two companies are now actively looking at reviving Cornwall’s tin fortunes. Strongbow Exploration is focused on South Crofty itself, which needs to be dewatered before any new mining can occur.
Strategic Minerals is drilling the Redmoor site, a historic tin mining area also hosting tungsten reserves. Both companies will take heart from the fact that the London tin price, although off January’s 13-month high of $22,000 per ton, is still holding just below there at a current $20,835.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) contract, moreover, seems to be signaling extreme tightness with registered stocks chronically low and time-spreads chronically backwardated.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tin-market-ahome/feast-and-famine-in-the-global-tin-market-andy-home-idUSKBN1GW1ZM