Tin Metal DNA™
· Atomic #50 · ₹4,782.72/kg today
One of the six original London Metal Exchange metals — and, in its modern life, mostly known for the tiny bead of solder holding your electronics together.
Tin DNA Profile
Each dimension below is either computed live from data this site already tracks, or a manually researched figure with its own source — see how these are calculated.
How is this calculated?
Computed from the 30-day price change already stored in this site's own price history: score = 50 + (30-day % change × 2), clamped to 0–100. A metal flat over 30 days scores 50; every 1% of 30-day move shifts the score 2 points either way.
How is this calculated?
The standard deviation of daily % price changes over the last 10 trading days, scaled ×20 and clamped to 0–100. A purely descriptive measure of recent swing size, not a positive or negative signal on its own.
How is this calculated?
The single largest producing country's share of reported global production (excluding the "Other countries" residual bucket), taken directly from the USGS-sourced figures already powering /metal-reserves. Higher = more concentrated in one country.
How is this calculated?
Summed reported reserves ÷ summed reported annual production, across only the countries USGS reports both figures for (same commodity, same units — never summed across commodities). Scaled: 40+ years of reserve life scores 100, scaled down linearly below that.
How is this calculated?
Manually researched from each metal's primary industry association (see each metal's Sources section) — not computed. Scored as 100 minus the largest single demand sector's share of total demand, so a metal with no single dominant buyer group scores higher than one dependent on one sector.
No reliable dataset for this metal yet — shown honestly as not scored rather than a guessed number.
Scientific Identity
- Symbol
- Sn
- Atomic Number
- 50
- Category
- Industrial Metals
Source: IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements. Further physical/chemical properties (density, melting point, electron configuration) are planned for a future update — not shown until individually verified per metal.
The Solder Metal
Since regulations phased lead out of electronics solder, tin-based alloys became the standard replacement — making electronics manufacturing the single largest source of tin demand today, a very different role from the tin cans and bronze the metal is historically associated with.
A Market Thinner Than It Looks
Tin trades in far smaller volumes than copper or aluminium on the LME, which means supply disruptions at even a handful of major mines or smelters can move the price more sharply than a similarly-sized disruption would for a bigger, deeper metals market.
One of the Four 'Conflict Minerals'
Tin is one of the four minerals — tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, often shortened to "3TG" — that US and EU regulations specifically require companies to trace back through their supply chains, because artisanal mining in parts of Central Africa has historically been linked to funding armed conflict. That compliance burden genuinely shapes which mines global electronics buyers are willing to source tin from, not just what they pay for it.
Supply Snapshot
Real, USGS-sourced production shares — the same data behind this metal's Geographic Concentration score above. Full breakdown: Metal Reserves →
Did You Know?
Tin is one of the original six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange since the 1870s, yet remains one of the lowest-volume contracts of the group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tin Metal DNA™ is MetalsCost's intelligence profile combining scientific identity with market, supply and demand indicators — each indicator is either computed from this site's own stored price and reserves data, or a manually researched, cited figure. See the methodology page for exactly how.
Tin's overall score of 37/100 is a simple average of the individual dimensions currently scored for it below — click any dimension's "Why?" for its exact formula and source.
China accounts for 24.5% of global tin production, per USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries — see the full production breakdown.
The Tin price in India today is ₹4,782.72 per kilogram as of August 28, 2026. See the live price and chart.
MetalsCost Metal DNA™ is an informational and analytical indicator. It is not investment advice, a price target, or a recommendation to buy or sell any commodity or financial instrument. See the methodology page for data sources and calculation details.
