Last checked at 2 Mar 2022 07:00
2 March 2022
AfriTin Mining Limited
("AfriTin" or the "Company")
Lithium (Spodumene) Discovery on AfriTin Mining License
AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African tech-metals mining company with a portfolio of mining and exploration assets in Namibia, is pleased to announce the discovery of spodumene, a lithium-bearing mineral, within its fully permitted mining license ML 129, situated 11 kilometres SW of the Company's flagship asset, the Uis Tin Mine ("Uis").
Link to Map: https://afritinmining.com/lithium-spodumene-discovery-on-afritin-mining-license-map/
Highlights:
▪ Lithium-bearing spodumene identified within multiple pegmatites located on adjacent mining licence ML 129;
▪ Discovery lies within the operational limits of the current Uis Tin Mine processing facility;
▪ Spodumene complements the Company's existing pegmatite hosted lithium resource at Uis; and,
▪ This discovery is the first result of an extensive early-stage regional exploration programme.
Anthony Viljoen (CEO) commented:
"The discovery of spodumene during our current exploration programme is an exciting development that highlights the significant potential of our licence areas in Namibia and provides a promising target for AfriTin's operations within the region. I am delighted by this new discovery, which reaffirms our development goals and supports the overall strategy of building a diverse portfolio of technology metals.
The Company intends to conduct an exploration drilling programme on this target during 2022, with the aim of adding to our existing lithium resource at Uis. Lithium from these sources can be of interest to both technical and chemical lithium markets, the latter finding application in lithium-ion batteries."
The discovery of spodumene, the primary mineral used in the production of lithium-ion batteries, was achieved under the Company's regional exploration programme over historical mine workings and greenfield opportunities in central Namibia. The mineralised pegmatites have a combined strike length of approximately 2 km and occur within the adjacent fully permitted mining licence, ML 129. They occur in close proximity to an existing arterial road and fall within the operational limits of the Uis Tin Mine.
The presence of spodumene within the pegmatites was confirmed through laboratory X-Ray diffraction analysis of surface grab samples. Four of the five samples collected returned positive results, the best of which yielded a whole rock spodumene content of 10%. Follow-up field observations have subsequently identified additional surface exposures of similar pegmatite type along strike. Whilst it is an early stage discovery, and significant work is required to fully understand these results, it is nevertheless an exciting development that underpins the Company's confidence in the prospectivity of ML129.
AfriTin's mining licence, ML 134, on which the Uis Tin Mine is situated, hosts a JORC (2012) compliant mineral resource containing approximately 450,000 tonnes of Li2O, with the primary lithium ore mineral identified as petalite (see announcement dated 16 September 2019). The spodumene identified on ML 129 indicates the potential for broadening the range of AfriTin's strategic mineral portfolio and furthering the Company's objective of establishing an inventory of technology metals.
Glossary of abbreviations
km | kilometres |
Li | Symbol for Lithium |
Li2O | Lithium oxide |
Li → Li2O | Metal to metal-oxide conversion factor of 2.153 |
JORC | The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves |
SW | South-west |
AfriTin Mining Limited | +27 (11) 268 6555 |
Anthony Viljoen, CEO | |
Nominated Adviser | +44 (0) 207 220 1666 |
WH Ireland Limited Katy Mitchell | |
Corporate Advisor and Joint Broker | |
H&P Advisory Limited Andrew Chubb Jay Ashfield Nilesh Patel | +44 (0) 20 7907 8500 |
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited Ashton Clanfield Callum Stewart | +44 (0) 20 7710 7600 |
Tavistock Financial PR (United Kingdom) | +44 (0) 207 920 3150 |
Jos Simson Oliver Lamb Nick Elwes |
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About AfriTin Mining Limited
Notes to Editors
AfriTin Mining Limited is a London-listed tech-metals mining company with a vision to create a portfolio of globally significant, conflict-free, producing 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 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.