ABSTRACT
Tin-bearing ores are invariably associated with granitic rocks or the debris of such rocks. Compared with commercially viable deposits of copper, lead, zinc, nickel and bauxite, tin deposits are generally small. Few tin mines have exceeded an annual output of 2,000 tonnes even with modern methods. Out of 14 leading non-fuel minerals, tin comes at the top in terms of the proportion of world production coming from developing countries. The only important non-communist producing countries with a significant tin consumption are Australia, South Africa, the UK and Brazil. The UK once had a large export trade in tin metal, importing concentrates for smelting chiefly from Bolivia and Nigeria, and exporting the metal to a large number of countries. A feature of the changing structure of the world economy which is of great significance for mineral-importing industrial countries is the ownership and control of essential mineral resources.
