Alphamin Resources, one of the world’s largest tin miners, has kicked off a potential sale of the company as prices of the metal surge, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Canadian-listed Alphamin, which is working with boutique advisory firm Cutfield Freeman & Co., has sent out marketing materials to prospective bidders, the people said. It has asked for initial offers by the end of the month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Alphamin jumped 16% to C$1.30 a share as of 2:45 p.m. in Toronto, giving the company a market value of C$1.65-billion ($1.3-billion). Investment firm Denham Capital is its biggest shareholder with a 57% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company could attract interest from Chinese bidders as well as private equity funds, according to the people.

Tin is having a moment amid a new focus on the supply chains for technology products. Prices for the metal, used as solder in chips made by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Intel, hit an all-time high of $51 000 per metric ton in March. It was trading Tuesday at $43 090, still up about 150% since the start of 2020.

Alphamin announced in November it was seeking a strategic review to maximize shareholder value. It said at the time it would consider options including a potential sale, extension of its mine life, balance sheet restructuring or shareholder distributions.

Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction, the people said. CEO Maritz Smith declined to comment beyond Alphamin’s previous statements. A representative for Cutfield Freeman also declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Denham Capital didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alphamin’s Mpama North mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo is considered to be one of the world’s highest-grade tin mines. It accounts for around 3% of world usage of the metal, producing 10,969 tons of tin concentrate in 2021. That’s due to expand as the company starts output at the nearby Mpama South project in December 2023.

Trading house Gerald Metals currently holds an offtake agreement for the tin concentrates produced by Alphamin at its Mpama North asset.