Tin prices hit two-year high as Congo mine halts

Tin prices surged to their highest level in more than two years after Alphamin Resources (TSXV: AFM) suspended its Bisie mine because rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) threatened the area.

Tin, used to coat containers and solder circuits, climbed to as much as $37,100 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME), its highest since June 2022, before paring gains to $36,280 per tonne. This follows a 7.4% surge on Thursday. In Shanghai, tin futures hit their daily 10% limit.

“This comes at a time of relatively low LME tin stocks, with LME on-warrant stocks totalling 3,500 tonnes on Thursday, down by 27% from 4,800 tonnes at the end of 2024,” BMO Capital Markets said in a note on Friday.

Alphamin’s stock rose 22% by early Friday afternoon in Toronto to C56¢ apiece, giving the company a market capitalization of C$719.6 million.

Talks with M23?

Alphamin Resources announced it would temporarily cease operations at the mine due to unrest in North Kivu province. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has recently advanced westward toward the mine’s location, occupying the town of Nyabiondo on March 9. Three days later rebels took control of Kashebere 13 km further west.

Political turmoil in the DRC is compounding the impact of a halt to mining in Myanmar’s Wa State, helping to lift LME tin prices by about 25% so far this year.

The Bisie mine produced 17,300 tonnes of tin ore in 2024, accounting for approximately 6% of global supply.

The M23 rebels have seized two of eastern Congo’s largest cities since January, escalating a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control over Congo’s vast mineral resources.

On Wednesday, Angola’s presidency said its capital, Luanda, would host direct talks between DRC and M23 next week. If confirmed, it would mark the first direct negotiations between Congo’s government and the M23 rebels.

However, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has previously rejected direct talks, and the government has yet to officially confirm its participation.