Demand for tin ingot from chemical industry to increase
----Interview with Jiaoshu Ouyang
General Manager
Ganzhou Baita Metal Materials Co., Ltd.
Ganzhou Baita Metal Materials Co., Ltd. was established as a joint-stock company after the restructuring of the former Gannan Tin Smelting Plant. Founded on February 2nd, 2000, the company is registered at No. 2 East Torch Road, Hongjin Industrial Park, Ganzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Ganxian District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. After years of development, it has grown into a high-tech enterprise integrating scientific research, production, and operations.
Asian Metal: Hello Mr. Ouyang, welcome to our interview column. Could you please give a brief introduction to your company?
Mr. Ouyang: Our company was founded on February 2, 2000. We possess strong technical capabilities, complete testing methods, advanced equipment, and sophisticated production processes. Technical professionals account for 34% of our total staff. In addition, we collaborate with Jiangxi University of Science and Technology and Jiangxi Institute of Environmental Engineering, serving as an R&D and internship base for their material science programs, which brings sustained momentum to our development. Our company mainly produces two series of products: non-ferrous metal powders and non-ferrous tin-based chemical products. The metal powder workshop manufactures a range of products under the “Baita” brand, including tin powder, zinc powder, cobalt powder, nickel powder, and ultra-fine copper powder. The tin-based chemical workshop produces “Baita” branded stannous pyrophosphate, stannous sulfate, tin dioxide, stannous oxide, tin disulfide, potassium stannate, sodium stannate, stannous chloride, and other varieties. We have an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons each for metal powders and tin-based chemical products. Over the past 20+ years, we have consistently adhered to the service philosophy of "quality first, customer satisfaction" and the principle of "integrity in conduct, diligence in action, and credibility wins," wholeheartedly serving both new and existing clients.
Asian Metal: What is the current demand for tin ingot in the chemical industry?
Mr. Ouyang: From 2020 to 2023, China's annual consumption of tin ingots in the tin-based chemical sector remained around 40,000 tons. Starting in 2024, due to increased demand from organic tin chemicals and the photovoltaic industry, the annual consumption has risen to approximately 45,000 tons. If trade negotiations between China and the U.S. continue to make progress in 2025, we anticipate a further positive boost to the market. Combined with the rising influence of the digital economy and AI technologies, we expect domestic consumption of tin ingots in the tin chemical industry to increase by 5% in 2025, reaching approximately 50,000 tons—accounting for over 13% of the total domestic tin ingot consumption.
Asian Metal: Tin prices have fluctuated sharply in the first half of the year. How does your company manage the risks brought by price volatility to ensure stable operations and profitability?
Mr. Ouyang: Currently, upstream miners and smelters hold pricing power. As consumers of tin ingots, we are largely in a passive position. Before 2021, domestic tin prices were relatively stable with minor annual fluctuations, which made procurement less stressful. However, since 2021, price swings have become more significant. No downstream enterprise currently has dominant influence over market demand, so our bargaining power remains weak. Signing quarterly or annual long-term contracts with smelters can hedge price risks, but our downstream clients are now very cautious in their purchases. Moreover, smelters often require long-term contracts of at least 200 tons per month, which is impractical for us. Therefore, we mainly rely on financial instruments for hedging operations to maintain business stability.
Asian Metal: Please give us an overview of the downstream industries of the tin chemical sector, including industry distribution, application scenarios, demand proportion, and development prospects.
Mr. Ouyang: Tin-based chemicals are generally divided into two categories: organic tin and inorganic tin. Organic tin accounts for about 60% of the market share, while inorganic tin makes up around 40%. Our company has long focused on the inorganic tin field, so I’ll elaborate on this area. In China, major inorganic tin chemical producers are concentrated in provinces like Yunnan, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. For instance, Yunnan Tin, a key tin producer in China, also has a layout in the inorganic tin chemical sector, offering products like sodium stannate and stannous chloride. Regions rich in tin resources or with mature chemical industries have gradually formed industrial clusters for inorganic tin chemicals. At present, the most in-demand inorganic tin products are stannous chloride, stannous sulfate, and sodium stannate. These three products account for more than 60% of the inorganic segment. Stannous sulfate, for example, is a key raw material in electroplating tin, widely used in metal surface protection and decoration, enhancing corrosion resistance and aesthetics, with applications in electronics, home appliances, and hardware. Sodium stannate is applied in aluminum plating and can replace copper wire in photovoltaic soldering, contributing to cost reduction and efficiency improvement—this is currently one of the more cutting-edge uses. Tin dioxide is used in glass spraying and coating; when applied to the surface, it enhances light transmittance, hardness, and wear resistance—useful in architectural glass, automotive glass, and electronic displays. With steady global economic growth, both traditional industries and emerging sectors are driving increasing demand for inorganic tin products. It is estimated that by 2030, the inorganic tin chemical market will see an average annual growth rate of 3%.
Asian Metal: Technological innovation is key to staying competitive in the tin chemical production process. What are your company’s latest achievements in this area, and how do they improve product quality and efficiency while reducing costs?
Mr. Ouyang: Recently, our company has achieved two major technological breakthroughs: the processing techniques for high-strength tin powder and for potassium stannate. Both processes now produce products that match the quality of imported equivalents. I’ll take the potassium stannate processing technique as an example. The process includes reaction synthesis, dehydration treatment, acid washing, high-purity refining, and final product processing. Potassium stannate production requires specific efficiencies and temperatures, typically achieved through low-temperature evaporative crystallization. Our process optimizes the treatment of crude potassium stannate, reducing steam usage during reactions, resulting in higher purity and improved product quality. Based on our calculations, steam consumption per ton of product is reduced by 30%, and costs decrease by approximately RMB300-500/t.
Asian Metal: Your company offers a wide range of tin chemical products. Are there any plans to further expand the product portfolio? How do you ensure quality and competitiveness in the diversification process?
Mr. Ouyang: Our current product lines for inorganic acids and bases are relatively complete. In the future, we plan to develop more niche tin-based products such as stannous oxide and zinc stannate. Zinc stannate is primarily used in fire safety applications as a smoke suppressant and flame retardant. Currently, the domestic market mostly uses antimony trioxide, which is toxic. As safety production standards become stricter in China, the demand for environmentally friendly flame retardants will grow, and the advantages of zinc stannate will become increasingly evident. This is one of our key directions for business expansion. To ensure the quality of new products, we conduct thorough and authoritative certification of industrial reagents and equipment specifications during the R&D stage. This is essential to guarantee product quality and competitiveness in the market.
Asian Metal: It is forecasted that global tin supply will see a slight surplus in 2025. Against this backdrop, what is your outlook on tin price trends?
Mr. Ouyang: I believe the tin price fluctuations this year have been strongly tied to supply-side factors. For example, unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo early this year caused a drop in production, triggering a sharp rise in tin prices. In April, expectations of production resumption in the Wa State increased supply outlooks, leading prices to fall again. Based on smelter production and downstream purchasing trends, we estimate that tin prices in the second half of the year will fluctuate at around RMB250,000-260,000/t. From a purchasing strategy perspective, we plan to replenish our inventory when prices fall to around RMB248,000–250,000/t.
Asian Metal: Thank you for your wonderful sharing. We wish your company continued success.
