What does AfriTin own?
Uis is a formerly producing mine that was shut down more than 20 years ago when the tin price hit a nadir.
AfriTin (LON:ATM) has now got the operation back up and running again, at least on a trial mining basis.
According to a historic resource estimate prepared by SRK, Uis has more than 70mln tonnes of ore containing 95,000 tonnes of tin.
The mine plan worked out by SRK says that that’s enough to allow for production through to 2063, although initially, AfriTin has much more modest goals.
In February, AfriTin revealed that it had discovered significant lithium, grades in addition to tin, in pegmatites in the ML 133 Licence, located in the Nainais area of Nambia.
ML 133 is outside of the current development area at the Uis tin mine.
How are operations going?
The concentrate is trucked from the mine to the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia, and then shipped to Thailand. The company is paid 80% of the value upon bill of lading at Walvis Bay.
Nameplate capacity is 60 tonnes of tin concentrate per month.
AfriTin Mining Ltd achieved nameplate tin concentrate production at Uis in November, when tin concentrate production totalled 63.9 tonnes for November 2020, representing a 32% month-on-month increase.
Despite coronavirus-related restrictions, shipping of tin concentrate through the port of Walvis Bay to the off-take partner in Thailand continues unabated.
AfriTin will now focus on maintaining steady state production, while exploring opportunities for further optimisation and expansion of the operation. These opportunities include a modular expansion of the plant throughput, and potential production of a by-product in the form of a tantalum concentrate.
The company is conducting test work to investigate the feasibility of magnetically separating tantalum minerals from the tin concentrate.
What the boss says; Anthony Viljoen, chief executive
“We are delighted to have achieved nameplate tin concentrate production of 63.9 tonnes, at our flagship asset, the Uis Tin Mine, ahead of year end,” said chief executive Anthony Viljoen.
“This is a defining milestone that has been achieved for the company. This success speaks volumes for the high quality nature of the asset and the calibre of our management team, whom I would like to sincerely congratulate given the macro challenges faced by the global pandemic. Furthermore, this accomplishment provides us with the platform to progress, with proven confidence, our development plan for the Uis Tin Mine towards a large-scale mining and processing facility.”
Inflexion points
- Ore already being stockpiled
- First concentrate shipment in November
- Hits nameplate of 60t per month early in 2020
- Bankable study for phase 2 upgrade
