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Tin ore

    Tin ore and columbite are two minerals that co-occur in the form of heavy black grains like gunpowder, mixed with sand and gravel. They are deposited in alluvial beds of old river valleys and subsequently buried under layers of soil overburden. The ore is mined by the open cast method. To do this, a powerful machine called a dragline is used to first remove the overburden, and then to scoop out the tin ore which it piles in heaps called a monitor is used to direct a powerful jet of water to this tin wash, which washes it down through a series of sluice boxes. Here, the black, heavy tin grains together with other minerals like columbite, now called tin concentrates, sink to the bottom of the boxes, while the water carries the dirt and sand away.
    At this stage, the columbite grains are separated from the pure tin concentrates. The concentrates are then sent to factories to be smelted refined and moulded in bars called tin ingots. It is in the form of either pure tin concentrates or tin ingots. Tin is used in tin can factories to coat other metals, to prevent them from rusting. It is also used in making tin foil paper. Columbite is added to steel to make it stronger and also to prevent it from rusting.

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