Bushveld Minerals, an AIM-listed mineral development company in South Africa, has signed an agreement to acquire the Zaaiplaats Tin Tailings Dump, which is estimated to contain between 2,600 and 4,500 tonnes of tin.The Zaaiplaats Dump is an asset owned by Zaaiplaats Mining, which is currently 60%-owned by the Brent Trust and 40% by Sephaku. The group is planing to acquire an interest of up to 87% in Zaaiplaats for the equivalent of around £0.56m. The agreement is conditional on the outcome of technical due diligence and evaluation of Zaaiplaats, to be undertaken over a two-month period, which began on March 20th.Chief Executive of Bushveld, Fortune Mojapelo, said: "Having commenced a technical work programme on the Zaaiplaats Dump, including a review of historical data and additional mineralogical and metallurgical testwork, we have begun to understand the potential of, and to de-risk the asset. "Its location in close proximity to, and between the Groenfontein and the Zaaiplaats hard rock deposits, on which we already have a combined 18,477 tonnes contained tin resource (JORC), gives Bushveld scope to add an early tailings-first production scenario to our Mokopane Tin Project, with the potential of materially enhancing the economics of the Mokopane Tin Scoping Study. "We have thus extended the timeline for the release of the Scoping Study in order to evaluate including the Zaaiplaats Dump within it. This is in line with our stated strategy for Bushveld's tin platform to consolidate a critical mass of contined tin inventory while pursuing opportunities for early production."NR