----Interview with Yue Xie
General Manager
Green Technology Co., Ltd.
Green Technology Co., Ltd is a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. In March 2011, the Company acquired all the interests of Baisong Mineral Resources Ring Back Limited to become a non-ferrous metals resource company focusing on tin mining and sales, carrying out metal tin mining operations in Tasmania, Australia, and holding 50% interests in the Renison Mine, the Bischoff Hill opencast tin mining project and the Renison Tailings reprocessing project with Yunnan Tin.
Asian Metal：Welcome to our interview, please give a brief introduction of your company.
Mrs. Xie: Green Technology Co., Ltd., was established in 2011 and owns the famous Renison mine. The Rennison mine has been one of the world's major hard rock tin mines and Australia's largest tin producer. Our project partner Yunnan Tin Group (Holding) Co., Ltd. is the largest tin producer in China. With its rich industry experience, Yunnan Tin Group provides strong support in the sale of tin metal and the production management of tin mines in Tasmania. Yunnan Tin Group also sells its 50% interest in tin concentrate exclusively to Yunnan Tin. Since the acquisition of the tin mine, the company has strengthened its management and technical team. In addition to the addition of new management, the company has netted a group of unique experts in geological exploration, mining, mineral processing and smelting, and recruited a group of engineering and technical personnel with academic expertise and practical experience in Australia and the Mainland to strengthen the first-line management of production.
Asian Metal：Please introduce the situation of tin mines in Australia.
Mrs. Xie：Tin mining in Australia has a long history, with important mining areas including the Adelson and Emmaville regions in New South Wells, Cleveland and Bishof Hills in Tasmania, and the Herberton/Garnets and Cooktown/Collingwood regions in Queensland. On the whole, Australia's tin ore resources are relatively rich, tin ore taste is relatively high, and the potential to increase storage and expand production is large, which plays an important role in the stable supply of the global tin market. According to data released by the Australian government, as of the end of 2022, Australia's tin economy confirmed the total resource of about 623,000 metric tons, accounting for about 13% of the world's total tin. The current annual production volume is about 9,000 metric tons, accounting for about 3% of global annual production.
Asian Metal：According to the data of Asian Metal, Australia has been the top three major importers of tin ore in China. What are the advantages of Australian ore compared with Myanmar and African ore?
Mrs. Xie：Australia, Myanmar and Africa are all important tin ore producers and also important sources of tin ore imports for China. Myanmar is the largest importer of tin ore from China, but the Wa State government began to ban all tin mining activities within the territory in August 2023, and the ban has not been lifted, which has a greater impact on China's tin ore supply. Compared with the other two sources, Australia's social structure and political system are stable, the legal system is transparent and sound, and the mining supporting infrastructure and technology are mature, so the supply of tin ore remains stable and is not easily affected by policies. More than 85% of Australia's economic tin resources are located at the Renison Bell deposit in Tasmania, and our Renison mine is the only operating tin mine in Australia. The main exporters of Australian tin ore are China, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries. According to the latest exploration data from the Rennison Mine, as of the end of March 2024, the Rennison resource was approximately 20 million metric tons with a tin grade of 1.45% and a total tin content of approximately 291,000 metric tons. The resources of the Renison tailings project are about 24 million metric tons, the average grade of tin is about 0.44%, and the total tin content is about 104,000 metric tons. The average copper taste is about 0.22%, and the total copper content is about 52,700 metric tons.
Asian Metal：China's demand for tin ore is not decreasing, so what policy support and precautions does Australia have for foreign customers to develop and buy tin ore in Australia at present?
Mrs. Xie：No matter which type of mineral is engaged in Australia, it is necessary to abide by the local laws and policies of Australia, respect the local culture, protect the local environment and ecology, and actively contribute to the government and the community. Since our investment in Rennison Mine, we have maintained a good cooperative relationship with the Australian local government and Australian partners, which provides a good foundation and guarantee for our investment, operation and management of Rennison Mine. Australia imposes a high 50% operating tax on local mines, and Australian laws are sound, making rent-seeking almost impossible. As a result, the barriers to investment or trade in Australia are high, so even if you want to cooperate, you need to be careful to choose more mature companies. Since Greentech became a shareholder of Renison Mine, it has continued to increase its investment in the mine to ensure the safety of employees and continuously increase production. From 2020 to 2023 alone, the total capital investment of Renison Mine is about HK $1.427 billion. With continued capital investment, production at the Rennison Mine has also steadily increased, with annual tin production at the Rennison mine nearly doubling from 5,013 tonnes to 9,532 tonnes in 2023 from 2011 to 2023. In the past three years, from 2021 to 2023, the company's revenue totaled more than HK $2.7 billion and its net profit totaled about HK $800 million. Renison Mine has maintained good interaction and cooperation with the local government and the community, and has more than 500 full-time employees, all of whom are local Australian employees, which strongly supports local employment and government tax revenue.
Asian Metal：Please forecast the supply of tin ore in Australia in the second half of the year and the supply trend next year.
Mrs. Xie：Australia's tin supply has been rising steadily in recent years and is expected to be around 5,000t in the second half of this year. Affected by the rising price of tin, some discontinued or unmined tin mines in Australia are also increasingly active, and supply is likely to increase next year under the influence of rising tin prices, but the specific value is not easy to estimate.
Asian Metal：What impact will this trend have on international tin prices and Chinese tin prices in the second half of the year?
Mrs. Xie：Although Australia's tin supply has a significant impact on the world's tin supply, the anticipated increase in Australia's tin mine should have little impact on tin prices. I think the tin price in China will remain at 250,00-270,000/t (USD35,074-37,880/t) in the second half of the year.
Asian Metal：Please talk about the company's future business plan.
Mrs. Xie：First, the company will focus on continuing to do a good job in the mining and operation of the Rennison mine and further promote the Rennison tailings reprocessing project. Second, on the basis of the existing tin trade, the company will strengthen the integration of resources and further expand tin trade; Third, for tin mines with good potential, the company will also consider cooperating in various ways to further increase the company's tin reserves and production.
Asian Metal：Thank you again for participating in this interview, I wish the company a prosperous business.
