Home: Tin squeeze highlights critical minerals supply problems
Repair of electronic devices, tin soldering parts. Stock image.
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Andy Home, a columnist for Reuters.)
It’s typical of tin that it didn’t make it onto the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) list of metals needed to power the clean energy transition.
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Although designated a critical mineral by both the United States and China, tin has a habit of sliding between the gaps of the decarbonisation narrative.
Around half of all tin used globally goes into soldering circuit-boards, the hidden drivers of the electronic world, meaning it is everywhere but nowhere to be seen.