Producing mineNamibia
Uis
Operated by Andrada Mining
A former tin mine in Erongo revived for tin, tantalum and lithium from its pegmatites.
Photo: Harald Süpfle · CC BY-SA 2.5
Reference specimen · Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 3.0
3TG conflict minerals
Sample dataTin Sn
Tin's main use is solder for electronics, followed by tinplate, chemicals and battery research. Cassiterite (SnO2) from the African Great Lakes is a 3TG conflict mineral. The standout industrial source is Bisie (Alphamin) in North Kivu, DRC, one of the world's highest-grade tin mines. Its operations were shut for about five weeks in March 2025 as M23 advanced on Walikale.
- Availability
- Contract — verified 3TG supply only
- African sources
- DR Congo · Rwanda · Nigeria
- Traded as
- Cassiterite concentrate · Tin ingot/metal · Tin-tantalum slags
- HS codes
- 2609.00 · 8001.10
Controlled supply
This mineral is subject to conflict minerals (3tg) due diligence. Offers are published only after ARAM has reviewed the supporting documents, and some details are visible to verified companies only.
Current offers
Verified companies only
Volumes, origins and terms are shown to verified companies. Availability for everyone else: Contract — verified 3TG supply only. Verify your company or submit a request.
What is traded
Cassiterite concentrate
Unit: t · HS 2609.00
typically 50–70% Sn (Bisie ~60% Sn gravity concentrate)
Tin ingot/metal
Unit: t · HS 8001.10
LME grade ≥99.85% Sn (refined outside Africa: Malaysia, Thailand, Belgium, China)
Tin-tantalum slags
Unit: t
Uses
- Solder (electronics, ~50%)
- Tinplate (food cans)
- Chemicals (PVC stabilisers, catalysts)
- Lead-acid batteries, glass (float bath)
ARAM sourcing assessment
Moderate: Bisie output is committed (Gerald Metals offtake historically), so opportunity lies with Rwandan and Nigerian certified producers. Requires the 3TG programme. Listing status: Contract (verified only).
- DR Congo
- Rwanda
- Nigeria
Producers, mines and projects
DR Congo
Bisie/Mpama North and South (Alphamin — ~17,500 t Sn in concentrate 2025 guidance after cut); Manono tin-tantalum; artisanal Kivu/Maniema
Rwanda
Rutongo, Nyamyumba and artisanal sites
Nigeria
Jos Plateau (historic and artisanal)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — African rows of the world production & reserves table
World Mine Production and Reserves: Significant revisions were made to the 2024 production for Brazil, Burma, Congo (Kinshasa) e26,000 27,000 91,000 Nigeria e3,100 3,500 NA Rwanda e4,100 4,600 NA World total (rounded) 294,000 290,000 >6,000,000
Exports reported by African countries
| Year | Country | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DR Congo | 2609 | $409.4m | 1.98 Mt |
| 2023 | DR Congo | 2609 | $191.6m | 18.5 kt |
| 2023 | Nigeria | 2609 | $97.6m | 84.4 kt |
| 2024 | Nigeria | 2609 | $51.9m | 4.4 kt |
| 2024 | DR Congo | 8001 | $11.4m | 701 t |
| 2023 | DR Congo | 8001 | $9.1m | 702 t |
Imports from Africa reported by buyers
Mirror data fills gaps where exporters report late or incompletely.
| Year | Buyer | Origin | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | China | DR Congo | 2609 | $601.2m | 33.9 kt |
| 2023 | China | DR Congo | 2609 | $411.2m | 27.4 kt |
| 2024 | China | Nigeria | 2609 | $178.9m | 10.0 kt |
| 2023 | China | Nigeria | 2609 | $43.1m | 2.6 kt |
| 2024 | China | Rwanda | 2609 | $10.5m | 597 t |
| 2023 | USA | DR Congo | 8001 | $8.9m | 337 t |
| 2023 | China | Rwanda | 2609 | $7.9m | 502 t |
| 2024 | Germany | Rwanda | 8001 | $5.2m | 175 t |
| 2024 | USA | Rwanda | 8001 | $3.7m | 150 t |
| 2024 | India | Rwanda | 8001 | $2.1m | 75 t |
| 2024 | Japan | Rwanda | 8001 | $1.7m | 50 t |
| 2023 | USA | Rwanda | 8001 | $1.6m | 75 t |
Source: UN Comtrade (public data). Values in US$.
How it is priced
- LME Tin (US$/t) is the benchmark; concentrate priced at LME × Sn content minus treatment charge and penalties (Fe, As, Ta/Nb credits in some cases)
- Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) as regional reference
Commercial terms
Minerals trade on formula prices: a published benchmark × metal content × payable percentage, less treatment charges and impurity penalties, settled on independent assay. Payment is typically by documentary letter of credit, with 90–95% provisional payment against shipping documents and the balance on final assay.
Request terms for TinAssay & quality control
- Sn by XRF / wet chemistry; Fe, SiO2, As, Pb, Ta2O5, Nb2O5; radioactivity
Logistics
- Bagged concentrate trucked from Bisie via Goma/Rwanda or Uganda to Dar es Salaam/Mombasa; security escorts in North Kivu
Export rules by country
Cross-border
Permit / licence
Same 3TG export regime as tantalum in DRC/Rwanda: CEEC, ICGLR certificates, ITSCI tagging
Authority: CEECPrimary source
Cross-border
No special restriction
Alphamin is 80.75% Alphamin / DRC state 19.25%
Primary source
Compliance & due diligence
- 3TG: OECD DDG, EU CMR 2017/821, Dodd-Frank §1502, RMI RMAP tin smelters
- Industrial mines like Bisie are lower-risk than artisanal; conflict proximity still a red flag
Red flags
- Armed-group advances (Walikale 2025)
- Artisanal cassiterite laundering
- Road insecurity
Latest findings, with sources
Bisie (Alphamin, North Kivu, DRC): ~60% Sn gravity concentrate; record 2024 output, 2025 guidance cut from 20,000 t to 17,500 t Sn-in-concentrate after a ~5-week security shutdown from 13 March 2025 (M23 advance on Walikale). Ore grade ~3–3.5% Sn.
Source 1 · internationaltin.orgSource 2 · alphaminresources.comSource 3 · alphaminresources.comSource 4 · internationaltin.org
Research compiled September 2026 from USGS, UN Comtrade, producer and regulator publications. Facts marked “reported” come from secondary sources and should be confirmed before contracting.
On the ground · Tin
The mines behind the supply.
The mines and districts that define supply, with their operators. They are shown for geographic context: third-party operations, not ARAM sites, and not the source of any particular lot. Ownership and status as publicly reported in 2026.
Producing mineDR Congo
No freely licensed photograph
DR Congo
Bisie (Mpama North)
Operated by Alphamin Resources
One of the world's highest-grade tin mines, in North Kivu; operations paused for about five weeks in 2025 as conflict approached Walikale.
Reference specimens
Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ralph Bottrill, CC BY 3.0
Shannon Heinle, CC0
Jan Helebrant, CC BY-SA 2.0
Reference specimens of the ore minerals and products, from public collections. They illustrate the material, not a specific ARAM lot or source.
Related minerals
#063TG conflict minerals
Tantalum (Coltan) Ta
Tantalum is used for capacitors in phones, laptops and cars, and in aerospace superalloys, medical implants and sputtering targets. Its ore, coltan (columbite-tantalite), comes mainly from the African Great Lakes region: the DRC and Rwanda together supply about 60% of the world's mined tantalum, much of it artisanal. Tantalum is one of the four 'conflict minerals' (3TG), and eastern DRC conflict (M23's control of Rubaya since 2024) makes due diligence decisive.
- Supply
- Contract — verified 3TG supply only
- Assay
- Independent — required
- Origin
- Verified per offer
Request supply
3TG conflict minerals
Tungsten W
Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal. It is used in hard metals (tungsten carbide cutting tools, drilling), armour-piercing munitions, high-temperature alloys and electronics. China produces about 80% and has placed tungsten under export controls (February 2025). Rwanda is Africa's leading producer, and its Nyakabingo mine (Trinity Metals) now ships ferberite concentrate to the US defence-linked supply chain. Tungsten is a 3TG conflict mineral.
- Supply
- Contract — verified 3TG supply only
- Assay
- Independent — required
- Origin
- Verified per offer
Request supply