Oscillatory co-electrodeposition of copper and tin

Scopus : "It is investigated in the present contribution the oscillatory co-electrodeposition of CuSn on a polycrystalline gold surface in the presence of Triton X-100 surfactant and citric acid as additive, in acidic media.

The experiments were conducted under potentiostatic control and the system dynamics characterized in terms of the morphology and stability of the current oscillations. Besides modulations in the frequency and amplitude of the current oscillations, several patterned states were observed, including relaxation-like and mixed mode oscillations. The oscillations were found to be very robust and some time series presented regular motions up to about two hour"

University of Sao Paulo, Brazil 

Congo N Kivu Tin Traders Flee Capital, Exports Hurt - Dealers

Factiva: "A majority of tin traders in Congo's leading producing region of North Kivu have fled the provincial capital Goma due to escalating fighting between government troops and rebels loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda, a mineral dealer told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday."

Stonehenge suspends Heemskirk tin plant

Factiva: "Australia's Stonehenge Metals said it has suspended production of tin concentrate at its Heemskirk gravity separation mill in Tasmania on low tin prices and uncertainty in capital markets. The mill is capable of handling about 100 tpd of high-grade tin ore but was still commissioning when it was suspended, company executive Bruce Lane told MB."

Novosibirsk Tin Integrated Works fails to redeem bonds

Factiva: "On November 5, 2008 Chairman of the Board of Directors of Novosibirsk Tin Integrated Works (NOK ) Vladimir Sherstov said that the plant failed to accumulate RUR347mln to redeem 02 series bond issue. 

A technical default which started on October 2, 2008, has developed into a real default. The five-year bond issue was to be redeemed in Sept 2011, but bond holders made a decision to sell bonds ahead of time, by October 2, 2008. The plant did not manage to pay off the debt by selling non-core assets (Seversksteklo, 91.8%- owned by the plant and wholly-owned Vostokolovo OOO), and a stake in NOK up to a controlling interest. The plant will continue talks on the sale of assets and will try to invite a large investor, Kommersan"

SnCl2 Catalyts for Oil Sands

Todd Hofer, Mason, 05/11/08: Do you happen to have any information on the use of SnCl2 in the oil sands application?   We have sold some for this application but the couple of people that we have sent it to are reluctant to give much information as they want to protect their business.   I had a lengthy conversation with a company out of Canada that focuses on doing petroleum removal in the most environmentally friendly manner.   He feels that SnCl2 can benefit their process but is looking to get as much information as he can on the subject.

Paul Cusack reply: I don't know very much about this other than the fact that Shell Canada are certainly doing a lot of work in this area. Apparently, Alberta's oil sands are recognised as the second largest oil reserves in the world and Shell are extracting bitumen and converting it to synthetic crude oil by hydrocracking processes. Tin compounds, particularly SnCl2, have long been known as very effective catalysts for coal liquefaction and there have been a number of papers published in this field. Regarding the oil sands project specifically, I attach a recent paper from the Energy Research Labs in Ottawa, in which they study tin-based catalysts (starting from SnCl2) for the hydrorefining of Athabasca oil sand bitumen.

Global Tin Market to Reach 516.9 Thousand Metric Tons by 2012

PRWeb: "The report titled 'Tin: A Global Strategic Business Report' published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, industry dynamics, product overview, and recent industry activity. The study also analyzes market data and analytics in volume sales for the period 2001-2015 by the following segments - Tinplate, Solders, Tin Chemicals and Alloys/Babbitt. Regions covered in the report include US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Asia-Pacific and Latin America."

Interfacial Reactions in Model NiTi Shape Memory Alloy

Scopus : "In this article, the microstructure properties of a novel Pb-free solder composite were examined. A binary nickel-titanium shape memory alloy (SMA) fiber was used to reinforce the Sn-rich matrix, to take advantage of the superelastic properties of the fiber. The objective of this study was to understand long-term, high-temperature interfacial growth in a model NiTi fiber-reinforced Sn matrix composite solder system."

Paper

Arizona State University, US

Intel, US

The 2008 Tin Market Review Features Major Tin Producers, Prices, Supply and Demand Conditions

Factiva: "Research and Markets has announced the addition of the 'Tin Market Review' report to their offering.

This report focuses on the study of the global tin markets. It provides region analysis on tin production. It features major tin producers, prices, supply and demand conditions, international trade, etc. The review also includes future outlook of the world tin market."

Timah net profit rose 18%

Factiva: "PT Timah Tbk up to quarter III/ 2008 recorded IDR1.49 trillion net profit or rose 18 percent as from IDR1.26 trillion last year.

In official statement, the net profit swelling up due to the soaring tin production average sale price."

Missouri plant makes lead-free ammunition for U.S. military

McClatchy Washington Bureau: "On a recent day in Independence, a below-the-radar event occurred at the factory that's the largest producer of small-arms ammunition used by the U.S. military.

The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant produced cartridges without lead projectiles. The slugs, instead of being made of lead _ a metal used for centuries _ now are being manufactured with a bismuth alloy, which has a density roughly equivalent to lead but without lead’s toxicity.

The lead-free cartridges assembled in October were part of an initial 600,000-round test sample. This month, Lake City employees will begin producing the first order of 20 million rounds of lead-free cartridges. After testing, they could be delivered by January to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Ban on tin compounds in ship antifouling paints.

Factiva: "On 17 Sep 2008 an international covenant came into force which imposed a ban on all use of organic tin compounds, including tributyl tin, in antifouling paints for ships. Ships continuing to use such surface treatments must be coated in a layer that prevents leakage into the surrounding water, otherwise the surface treatment must be removed. The covenant covers half the tonnage of the world's commercial fleets."

China's Yunnan Tin to cut Q4 output by about 30 pct amid falling prices

Factiva: "Yunnan Tin Co Ltd (SZA 000960), the world's largest tin producer, said it plans to cut output by about 30 pct in the fourth quarter due to falling market prices and lower sales. The company said the economic crisis has dampened consumption of metals as industries lower their output. The fall in tin prices has accelerated since October, leading to a significant decline in sales, Yunnan Tin said"

Effect of Ag, Fe, Au and Ni on the growth kinetics of Sn-Cu intermetallic compound layers

Scopus: "The effect of Ag, Fe, Au and Ni on the interfacial reactions between Sn-based solder and Cu substrate has been investigated in this paper. Based on the solubility of the alloying elements in the Sn-Cu intermetallic compound (IMC) layers these elements can be divided into two categories: (i) alloying elements that do not dissolve significantly in either Cu6Sn5 or Cu3Sn and (ii) elements that exhibit significant solubility in Cu6Sn5 and also to Cu3Sn. It is shown that the latter group of elements have stronger effect on the growth behaviour of IMC's in the Sn-Cu system than those belonging to the first group. Of the investigated elements Ni had the most prominent effect on the growth kinetics. It reduced greatly the thickness of Cu3Sn and consequently also the total IMC layer thickness"

Japanese Inventor Develops Solid Acid Catalyst Containing Tin

Factiva: "An object is to provide a sulfated tin oxide catalyst with strong catalytic activity, and a method for preparation thereof. It was discovered that in the preparation of a solid acid catalyst containing tin, stronger solid acid properties than before could be achieved by preparing a support comprising a crystalline tin oxide, preferably metastannic acid, bringing this support into contact with organic acid ions, then bringing it into contact with a sulfate group-containing compound, and then calcining it. The solid acid catalyst of the present invention has a tin content of 30% or more by weight as metal in the catalyst, a sulfate group supported thereon and an argon adsorption heat of more than 30 kJ/mol, and is used in acid-catalytic reactions.'

The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,442,668 on Oct. 28.

The patent has been assigned to Japan Energy Corp., Tokyo"