AfriTin Mining Ltd Uis Tin Mine Operational Update (2244A)
May 28 2019 - 1:01AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMATM
RNS Number : 2244A
AfriTin Mining Ltd
28 May 2019
28 May 2019
AfriTin Mining Limited
("AfriTin" or the "Company")
Uis Tin Mine Operational Update
AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), a mining company with a
portfolio of near production tin assets in Namibia and South
Africa, with the flagship asset being the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia
("Uis"), is pleased to provide an operational update relating to
its mining and processing facility at Uis as part of the Phase 1
Pilot Plant project.
Highlights:
- Phased processing plant commissioning started;
- Mining contractor mobilised;
- Workforce recruitment nearing completion;
- Water and power infrastructure in place;
- Resource validation drilling completed with twenty holes
drilled; and,
- Additional financing & working capital facility
secured.
Commissioning of the processing plant at Uis has now commenced
and is being conducted in a phased manner, starting with the
testing of mechanical installations and progressing to continuous
ore beneficiation. The plant consists of two main parts: a 4-stage
crushing circuit and a 3-stage concentrating circuit. The C4 stage
of commissioning, which involves passing ore material through the
circuit, is scheduled for end of May 2019 for the crushing circuit
and end of June 2019 for the concentrating circuit. During the
commissioning, the plant will produce initial tin concentrate;
however, hot commissioning and continuous plant operations will
likely commence in July 2019. This represents a slight deviation
from previous guidance by the Company stating that commercial tin
concentrate production will commence in Q2 2019. The is due to
longer than expected lead times in the procurement of equipment,
material and construction services.
Commissioning will be followed by a production ramp up spanning
four months with the goal of achieving design capacity before the
end of Q4 2019.
Mining contractors have been mobilised and have commenced with
continuous mining operations at the Uis mine. Initially,
outcropping pegmatites of the V1 and V2 ore bodies will be
targeted, utilising an opencast mining method and production will
be ramped up according to the schedule of the processing plant.
AfriTin is conducting overburden stripping at a ratio of 1.5 tonnes
of overburden to one tonne of ore so as to ensure the sustainable
exposure of ore over the life of the Phase 1 operation.
The Company is in the process of recruiting operational
personnel. Approximately one third of the total planned complement
of 90 people have been appointed, including the entire management
team.
General infrastructure to the operation is now in place,
including water supply from groundwater sources and electrical
power supply from diesel generating sets. As per the announcement
of 8 May 2019, the Company has concluded an agreement with the
Namibian Power Corporation for provision of grid electrical power.
Construction of the infrastructure required for the grid power
connection has started.
The Company has completed exploration drilling (twenty holes)
aimed at validating the historical mineral resource information by
SRK in 1985, for ISCOR, for the V1 and V2 pegmatites. The first
five holes have been announced (refer to announcement of 20 May
2019) and outstanding assay results are expected during June
2019.
The completion of the Phase 1 Pilot Plant project and ramp up to
steady-state production are supported by an equity fund raising and
a general working capital facility as announced by the Company on
22 May 2019.
At Uis, formerly the world's largest hard-rock tin mine,
management are employing a two-fold strategy: the Phase 1 Pilot
Plant is designed to process approximately 500,000 tonnes per annum
producing approximately 60 tonnes of tin concentrate per month
while Phase 2 will comprise a planned operation of a 3 million
tonne per annum processing facility, producing approximately 5,000
tonnes per annum of tin concentrate.
Commenting on the developments CEO Anthony Viljoen stated, "We
have been looking forward to this exciting phase of the project
since breaking first ground at the end of 2018. While there is work
to be done to achieve steady state production, the significant step
of commencing production and first concentrate is a momentous
milestone for the company. Bringing a project of this scale and
stature into a supply constrained tin market, less than two years
since our admission to AIM, I believe this places Afritin as a
player of significance in the global tin market."
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
For further information, please visit www.afritinmining.com or
contact:
AfriTin Mining Limited
Anthony Viljoen, CEO +27 (11) 268 6555
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
WH Ireland Limited
Katy Mitchell
James Sinclair-Ford +44 (0) 207 220 1666
Corporate Adviser and Joint Broker
H&P Advisory Limited
Andrew Chubb
Jay Ashfield
Nilesh Patel +44 (0) 20 7907 8500
Joint Broker
NOVUM Securities Limited
Jon Belliss +44 (0)20 7399 9400
Financial PR (United Kingdom)
Tavistock +44 (0) 207 920 3150
Jos Simson
Barney Hayward
About AfriTin Mining Limited
Notes to Editors
AfriTin Mining is the first pure tin company listed in London
and its vision is to create a portfolio of world-class,
conflict-free, tin producing assets. The Company's flagship asset
is the Uis brownfield tin mine in Namibia, formerly the world's
largest hard-rock tin mine.
AfriTin is managed by an experienced board of directors and
management team with a current two-fold strategy: fast track Uis
brownfield tin mine in Namibia to commercial production in 2019
ramping up to 5,000 tonnes of concentrate, and consolidation of
other quality African tin assets. 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.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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