Trial Blast Successfully Undertaken

First Tin PLC

06 November 2024

 

06 November 2024

First Tin PLC

("First Tin" or "the Company")

Trial Blast Successfully Undertaken

First Tin PLC (LSE: 1SN), a tin development company with advanced, low capex projects in Germany and Australia, is pleased to announce that a Trial Blast at its Taronga Tin Project ("Taronga") in Australia has been successfully undertaken and the results have been analysed.

The blast was undertaken on 2^nd October 2024 and the consultants' final report was received on 28^th October. All safety procedures were followed and no safety or community concerns were recorded.

Key findings include:

·     Drilling showed excellent penetration rates aided by the vertical nature of the fracture sets.  A total of 221.5m was completed within 6 hours.

·     Powder factors of 0.3, 0.5 and 0.8 were trialled based on 0.8 SG ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil).

·     All powder factors showed excellent breakage to sizes less than 400mm.

·     The consultants recommended that a powder factor of 0.5 be used for production holes at the start of operations, with 0.3 used for batter holes in trim shots. It was suggested that a powder factor of 0.3 could be trialled once mining has commenced.

·     This confirms the powder factor used in the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") is correct.

·     Two Geophone style blast monitors were placed at the nearby communications tower (500m from the blast site) and 243m in the opposite direction from the blast site.  The trigger points were set at 0.5mm/s (PPV) and 85db overpressure (noise).  The only recorded vibration was at the closest monitor 243m from the blast site and no overpressure noise was recorded.

First Tin CEO, Bill Scotting commented:

"The trial blast was a great success and reinforces the technical viability of our Taronga project. It confirms that the powder factors used in the DFS produce excellent fragmentation and that further trials using even lower powder factors could result in significant operating cost savings.

Our monitoring also confirmed acceptable vibration and noise from the trial, demonstrating our commitment to safety and minimal community impact. This data is currently being modelled as part of the preparation of Taronga's Environmental Impact Statement.

The blasted rock also provided an opportunity to collect another bulk sample for our continuing metallurgical testwork programme, with samples more closely representing the actual run of mine blasted material. ALS Burnie in Tasmania will conduct metallurgical testing on these samples.

These insights are invaluable as we advance our Taronga asset toward production."

(Figure 1: Drone Footage of Blast)

Enquiries:

First Tin	Via SEC Newgate below
Bill Scotting - Chief Executive Officer
Arlington Group Asset Management Limited (Financial Advisor and Joint Broker)
Simon Catt	020 7389 5016
Zeus Capital Limited (Joint Broker)
Harry Ansell / Dan Bristowe / Katy Mitchell	020 3829 5000
SEC Newgate (Financial Communications)
Elisabeth Cowell / Molly Gretton	07900 248 213

Notes to Editors

First Tin PLC is an ethical, reliable, and sustainable tin production company led by a team of renowned tin specialists. The Company is focused on becoming a tin supplier in conflict-free, low political risk jurisdictions through the rapid development of high value, low capex tin assets in Germany and Australia, which have been de-risked significantly, with extensive work undertaken to date.

Tin is a critical metal, vital in any plan to decarbonise and electrify the world, yet Europe has very little supply. Rising demand, together with shortages, is expected to lead tin to experience sustained deficit markets for the foreseeable future.

First Tin's goal is to use best-in-class environmental standards to bring two tin mines into production in three years, providing provenance of supply to support the current global clean energy and technological revolutions.

 

END