Tin has been used since many thousand years ago and played a role urgent in journey history of humankind. Since the bronze age or about five thousand years ago, humankind has mine tin for utilized as agriculture tools or weapons, even as jewellery. Along with time, usage of tin varies for various necessity in life. Currently, tin have role urgent in development industry manufacturing, one of them as ingredient raw industry electronics and automotive.

Tin many used as metal single or alloy mixture with other metals (alloys), especially copper. Tin been used in mixture other metals including soft solder, bronze, metal babbit, metal bell, white metal, mixed metal shaping and bronze. Soldering tin which is mixture of tin and lead are results from product the most tin used, more or less about 50% of total world production.

Lot of solder found on items electronic many used for make connection electricity which include components electricity in board circuit (printed circuit board / PCB). Besides that, tin is also used as layer armour on steel like can for food preservation. Tin is also used for produce tubes / tubes that can and easily kneaded, like for packaging of pastes, lotions, and ointments.

Indonesia, an archipelagic country that has riches natural and valuable minerals scattered in several areas. Indonesia has beautiful beach lines, as well as miscellaneous variety of flora and fauna also contain valuable mineral wealth, such as tin. Based on information from the US Geological Survey, Indonesia has the second largest tin reserves in the world. This thing coming from the facts of Indonesia is passed by the path tin called Southeast Asia Tin Belt, where track started coming down from Thailand, passing Malaysia and ends in the Bangka-Belitung Islands.

As of the facts, Indonesia’s export value of tin with HS code 8001 based on ITC Trade Map statistical 2020 reached US$ 1.11 billion. Indonesia's export value of tin represents 32% of world’s total exports. Indonesia is the number one tin exporter of the world. The government also always encourage down-streaming process to give value added for tin exported tin thus it can give higher export value to Indonesia. Based on data from the World Bureau of Metal Statistics, refined tin consumption in Indonesia in 2020 was around 1.2 thousand metric tons.

One of contributing company to support Indonesia’s achievement as the biggest tin exporter in the world in PT Timah Tbk which located in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung province and has operational areas in Bangka Belitung, Riau Islands and Riau Province along with several areas around Indonesia.

Farel Anjar Renato Purba - 08/03/2022