Lithium Test Work Produces High-Purity Concentrate

RNS Number : 5206M

AfriTin Mining Ltd

24 May 2022

 

24 May 2022

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR) as in force in the United Kingdom pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service (RIS), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

AfriTin Mining Limited

("AfriTin" or the "Company")

Lithium By-Product Test Work Produces High-Purity Concentrate

AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African technology metals mining company with a portfolio of mining and exploration assets in Namibia, is pleased to announce metallurgical test work results showing the successful production of a petalite lithium concentrate, indicating the potential for a lithium by-product at the Company's flagship polymetallic asset, the Uis Mine ("Uis").

Link to full pdf version with images: https://afritinmining.com/lithium-by-product-test-work-produces-high-purity-concentrate/

Highlights:

· A high-purity (up to 94%) petalite lithium concentrate was produced from bulk ore samples by independent test facilities;

· Confirms high-grade, ultra-low iron petalite at 4.34% Li₂O and contaminants levels of 0.03% Fe₂O₃ and 0.93% alkalis (Na ₂ O + K ₂ O);

· The Company expects the concentrate to meet demand from premium glass and ceramics manufacturers, and be suitable feedstock for battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide converters;

· A large bulk sample (11 tonnes) was collected to produce petalite lithium concentrate samples for distribution to potential offtakers; and

· EPCM contractor appointed for the design and construction of a lithium pilot processing plant at the Uis Mine.

Anthony Viljoen (CEO) commented:

"We are pleased to announce the results from the first phase of lithium test work for the Uis Mine, showing the potential for producing a high-quality petalite lithium concentrate from our lithium mineral resource.

The lithium resource is contained within the currently mined ore body, and the lithium concentrate will be a by-product to our existing tin concentrate. These positive test results allow us to progress to the design and construction of a lithium pilot plant at Uis.

Petalite concentrate has historically been sold into the technical market, as feedstock in glass and ceramics industry. Given the increasing global demand for lithium supply and the quality of our lithium, we are also receiving in-bound enquiries from the lithium conversion industry who can develop petalite into battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide. Techno-economic modelling of an expanded operation (see announcement of Uis Phase 2 PEA on 26 April 2022) has highlighted the substantial revenue potential of lithium for the Uis Mine."

Metallurgical Test Work

The Company has completed the initial phase of lithium by-product metallurgical test work, which produced high-purity (up to 94%) petalite lithium concentrate, averaging 4.34 % Li₂O, and presenting low contaminant levels of 0.03% Fe₂O₃, 0.54% Na₂O and 0.39% K₂O. These qualities are typical of petalite concentrates used as lithium feedstock in the premium glass and ceramics industry which requires a high lithia to iron ratio. The Company also expects the concentrate to be suitable for conversion to battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide. Petalite can be converted to beta-spodumene through roasting, rendering it suitable for lithium processing methods employed by spodumene converters.  Several potential offtakers in the lithium conversion industry have expressed interest in the Company's expected lithium by-product.

The metallurgical test work was independently conducted at test service providers LightDeepEarth (South Africa), PESCO (South Africa) and Geolabs Global (South Africa). Bulk ore samples were collected from the active mining area and the discard stream of the current processing plant at Uis. These samples were processed via Dense Medium Separation ("DMS") methods on a laboratory and pilot scale and achieved a 4 to 5 times Li₂O upgrade. The concentrates from the DMS process were subjected to a milling and flotation to produce a final lithium petalite concentrate.

The next phase of lithium test work will optimise flotation operating parameters and will involve the existing and two additional test work service providers, Nagrom (Australia) and ANZAPLAN (Germany). A large bulk sample of 11 tonnes has already been collected for treatment at Nagrom's test facility in Australia to produce lithium petalite concentrate product samples for distribution to potential off-takers.

Lithium Pilot Plant

The Company has also appointed Consulmet (South Africa) as EPCM contractor for designing and constructing a 20 tph pilot plant at Uis with a target commissioning date in Q4 2022. The pilot plant is intended as a proof of concept for a full-scale, integrated lithium beneficiation circuit, which would be added to the existing processing plant. Petalite lithium concentrate produced from the pilot plant is intended for initial sales into premium glass and ceramic markets, and test material for existing and/or prospective converters of lithium ore concentrates to battery-grade lithium.

Ore Sorting

The Company is investigating the potential of sensor-based ore sorting technology to produce a lithium pre-concentrate prior to concentration with DMS and flotation. Initial test work by Steinert (Germany) demonstrated a hyperspectral signature for petalite using a near-infrared ("NIR") and laser sensor. This has the potential of achieving waste rejection early in the beneficiation process and increasing the feed grade to the lithium concentrator.

Process Flow Design

The results of the metallurgical test work and lithium pilot campaigns will inform the process flow design ("PFD") of the full-scale, integrated lithium beneficiation circuit, which is targeted for implementation in 2024. Figure 1 summarises the ultimate PFD for producing separate tin, tantalum and lithium petalite concentrates.

Competent Person

The technical data in this announcement has been reviewed by Laurence Robb, a Non-Executive Director of AfriTin. Laurence Robb (BScHons, MSc, PhD, FGS, FGSSA, FRSSA) has more than 40 years of industry-related mineral project development experience. He is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist with The South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, and Chartered Geologist with the Geological Society of London. He was Professor of Economic Geology and Director of the Economic Geology Research Institute in the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Geosciences. He is currently based at Oxford University as a Visiting Professor. He has reviewed the technical disclosures in this release and consents to the release of the information contained herein.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement may contain some references to forecasts, estimates, assumptions and other forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations, estimates and forecast outcomes are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that they will be achieved. They may be affected by a variety of variables and changes in underlying assumptions that are subject to risk factors associated with the nature of the business, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed herein. All references to dollars ($) and cents in this announcement are in United States currency, unless otherwise stated. Investors should make and rely upon their own enquiries before deciding to acquire or deal in the Company's securities.

Glossary of abbreviations

DMS	Dense medium separation
EPCM	Engineering, procurement and construction management
Li	Symbol for Lithium
Li → Li 2 O	Metal to metal-oxide conversion factor of 2.153
Li 2 O	Lithium oxide
NIR	Near-infrared
PEA	Preliminary economic assessment
PFD	Process flow design
tph	Tonnes per hour

Glossary of Technical Terms

Lithium carbonate	A carbonate salt of lithium (Li2CO3), a feedstock in the manufacturing of lithium compounds used in lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium hydroxide	An alkali (LiOH), used as feedstock in the manufacturing of lithium compounds used in lithium-ion batteries. Lithium carbonate is often converted to LiOH prior to manufacturing of battery lithium compounds.
Petalite	A   lithium aluminium phyllosilicate mineral LiAlSi4O10

AfriTin Mining Limited	[phone]
Anthony Viljoen, CEO
Nominated Adviser	[phone]
WH Ireland Limited Katy Mitchell
Corporate Advisor and Joint Broker
H&P Advisory Limited Andrew Chubb Jay Ashfield Nilesh Patel	[phone]
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited Ashton Clanfield Callum Stewart	[phone]
Tavistock Financial PR (United Kingdom)	[phone]
Jos Simson Oliver Lamb Nick Elwes

About AfriTin Mining Limited

Notes to Editors

AfriTin Mining Limited is a London-listed technology metals mining company with a vision to create a portfolio of globally significant, conflict-free, producing and exploration assets. The Company's flagship asset is the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia, formerly the world's largest hard-rock open cast tin mine.

AfriTin is managed by an experienced board of directors and management team with a current strategy to ramp-up production at the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia to more than 10,000 tonnes of tin concentrate and 350,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate in a Phase 2 expansion, having reached Phase 1 commercial production in 2020. The Company strives to capitalise on the solid supply/demand fundamentals of tin and lithium by developing a critical mass of resource inventory, achieving production in the near term and further scaling production by consolidating assets in Africa.

 

END

 

 

MSCPPUUGAUPPPGW