Quarterly Operation Update

RNS Number : 7193B

AfriTin Mining Ltd

14 June 2021

 

14 June 2021

AfriTin Mining Limited

("AfriTin" or the "Company")

Quarterly Operation Update

AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African tin mining company with its flagship asset, the Uis Tin Mine ("Uis") in Namibia, is pleased to provide the quarterly production update for Q1 of the 2022 Financial Year ('FY2022'), the three-month period from 1 March 2021 to 31 May 2021).

Highlights:

▪ Tin concentrate production for Q1 of the 2022 Financial Year totalled 183 tonnes, containing 114 tonnes of tin metal, exceeding the production target of 180 tonnes;

▪ Shipping of tin concentrate to Thailand, and off-take pre-payments continue despite global COVID-19 related shipping delays;

▪ Company progressing implementation of the Uis Phase 1 expansion project, to potentially result in a 67% increase in tin concentrate production;

▪ The implementation programme will commence with the appointment of an experienced implementation team, and ordering of long-lead items;

▪ By-product test work on tantalum and lithium oxide is progressing as planned, with the aim of realising additional revenue streams; and

▪ REMINDER: Webcast: Exploring the Company's Namibian assets and upside potential - Monday 14 June 15h00 BST.

Anthony Viljoen, CEO of AfriTin Mining Limited commented:

"AfriTin has seen a successful start to the 2022 Financial Year. We are delighted to release our first quarterly update for the year demonstrating that the Company is achieving its internal monthly production targets at our flagship Uis Tin Mine. These positive production results have coincided with 10-year high tin prices.

We are excited to commence the Phase 1 expansion. In addition, during this phase, we are hoping to unlock the exciting and significant lithium and tantalum by-product potential we have across our extensive resource base.

I look forward to presenting an exploration webcast on our current portfolio of Namibian assets together with our Exploration Manager, Tim Marais and Laurence Robb (non-executive director). We believe that the Damara Belt has huge unexplored potential to become a new technology metallogenic province of global significance."

The Company is pleased to report that Uis successfully maintained a production level above its steady state target during Q1 of FY2022. During the quarter under review, Uis surpassed the Directors' internal target of 180 tonnes of tin concentrate to produce 183 tonnes (containing 114 tonnes of tin metal). The quarter-on-quarter ('QoQ') performance for Q4 of the 2021 Financial Year ('FY2021') and Q1 of FY2022 is tabulated below:

Table 1: QoQ performance of the Uis Phase 1 pilot plant

Description	Units	QoQ Performance
		Q4 FY2021 Actual (Dec - Feb)	Q1 FY2022 Actual (Mar - May)
Plant Availability	%	80%	75%
Plant Utilisation	%	84%	83%
Plant Processing Rate	tph	83	84
Ore Processed	t	121,450	115,751
Feed Grade	% Sn	0.186	0.167
Tin Concentrate	t	195	183
Tin Contained in Concentrate	t	126	114
Tin Recovery	%	55.8%	58.9%

The plant availability for Q1 of FY2022 was lower than the preceding quarte r , because of power supply problems, additional planned downtime due to DMS circuit upgrades and unplanned breakdowns in the crushing circuit during March 2021 . These production delays can be regarded as extraordinary and did not reoccur during the remainder of the quarter. 

The feed grade for Q1 of FY2022 was also lower than the preceding quarter due to natural grade variations in the mining area. However, the feed grade is still above the averageprojected life-of-mine feed grade of 0.138% Sn ,   in the absence of grade control interventions such as selective mining and low-grade stockpiling . T he life-of-mine plan  forecasts a n above-average feed grade during 2021 and 2022.

The lower QoQ plant availability and plant feed grade was countered, to some extent, by a 6% improvement in overall tin recovery. Q1 of FY2022 displayed a 58.9% recovery, compared to a design target of 60% recovery.

Uis regularly dispatches shipments of high-quality tin concentrate to the Company's off-take partner in Thailand via the Port of Walvis Bay, despite the global shipping delaysresulting from COVID-19. Pre-payments continue under our existing off-take agreement with Thaisarco, capitalising on the high tin price currently presentdue to sustained strong market fundamentals.

The Directors have approved the Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS') for the Phase 1 Stage II expansion, which will potentially result in a 67% increase in tin concentrate production through a modular expansion of the current Phase 1 Stage I processing plant. The results of the DFS were announced on 4 May 2021. The next steps following the approval of the DFS involve engineering detailing, the appointment of a project and construction management team, ordering of long-lead items and revision of the execution plan. A project execution plan of eight months has been modelled.

As previously announced, metallurgical test work at Uis to produce separate tantalum and petalite concentrate by-products is ongoing. Investigation and process flow development aimed at a combination of leaching and roasting techniques to improve the efficiency of magnetic separation and to produce a separate high-value Ta-Nb minerals by-product continues. Furthermore, as part of the work programme, the Company continues to investigate the suitability of its petalite for the production of ceramic-grade and battery-grade lithium products.

REMINDER: UPSIDE EXPLORATION WEBINAR

Alongside the Company's CEO, Anthony Viljoen, the Company's Exploration Manager, Tim Marais and Laurence Robb (non-executive director) will be hosting an exploration webcast on the current portfolio of Namibian assets today at 3.00 pm BST. The following topics will be discussed:

▪ Market fundamentals of Uis metals

▪ Introduction to the Damara metallogenic province

▪ Geology of Uis operations and additional resource potential 

▪ Overview of the Nai-Nais license

▪ B1/C1 license considerations

▪ Brandberg West historical information review

Please register your interest at: https://brrmedia.news/afritin

For further information, please visit www.afritinmining.com or contact:

AfriTin Mining Limited
Anthony Viljoen, CEO	[phone]
Nominated Adviser
WH Ireland Limited Katy Mitchell James Sinclair-Ford	[phone]
Corporate Advisor and Joint Broker
Hannam & Partners Andrew Chubb Jay Ashfield Nilesh Patel	[phone]
Joint Broker
Turner Pope Investments Andy Thacker James Pope	[phone]
Financial PR (United Kingdom)
Tavistock	[phone]
Jos Simson Nick Elwes Oliver Lamb

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014

About AfriTin Mining Limited

Notes to Editors

AfriTin Mining Limited is the first pure tin company listed in London and its vision is to create a portfolio of globally significant, conflict-free, tin-producing assets. The Company's flagship asset is the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia, formerly the world's largest hard-rock opencast tin mine.

AfriTin is managed by an experienced board of directors and management team with a current two-fold strategy: fast-track Uis Tin Mine in Namibia to commercial production as Phase 1, ramping up to 10,000 tonnes of concentrate per annum in a Phase 2 expansion. The Company strives to capitalise on the solid supply/demand fundamentals of tin by developing a critical mass of tin resource inventory, achieving production in the near term and further scaling production by consolidating tin assets in Africa.

 

END

 

 

UPDFFFVFRSIVLIL