Last checked at 11 Oct 2022 07:00
11 October 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 and Tantalum Infill Drill Programme Update
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 results for the lithium and tantalum infill drilling programme at the Company's flagship operation, the Uis Mine ("Uis").
The infill drilling programme is being conducted over the V1/V2 pegmatite at Uis, which is currently being mined to produce a tin concentrate. The 50-hole drilling programme aims to increase the confidence of the existing lithium and tantalum mineral resource estimates over the deposit; 47 drill holes have been completed and are being processed. The results of 9 previous diamond drill (DD) holes were announced on 8 June 2022 and 20 July 2022, and this announcement reports the assay results of the next 11 drill holes, comprising both diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling (Figure 1). The results of the outstanding 27 drill holes will be provided when received.
Highlights:
· Significant pegmatite intersections include:
o 35 m at 0.149% Sn, 77 ppm Ta, and 0.94% Li2O within drill hole V1V2032, from 150 m to 185 m;
o 25 m at 0.197% Sn, 140 ppm Ta and 0.60% Li2O for hole V1V2076, from 46 m to 71 m;
o 34 m at 0.186% Sn, 116 ppm Ta, and 0.57% Li2O from 13 m to 48 m; and 0.92m at 5.154% Sn, 582 ppm Ta and 0.32% Li2O from 5 m to 6 m for drill hole V1V2072.
· Pegmatite was intersected in all holes at the depths and apparent widths predicted by the geological model.
Anthony Viljoen (CEO) commented:
"We are pleased to report these exploration drill results which are very much in line with our high expectations. They relate to the north-eastern portion of the V1/V2 pegmatite ore body, which is an area known to contain higher tantalum and tin grades. For the pegmatite intersections reported here, the average tantalum grade is approximately 40% higher than the average of the existing mineral resource estimate (119 ppm vs 85 ppm), and the tin grade is approximately 30% higher than the average of the resource estimate (0.174% vs 0.134%).
The infill drill programme continues to deliver results that we believe confirm the scale and quality of the deposit. We look forward to upgrading our mineral resource estimate and bringing on tantalum and lithium by-product revenue streams alongside our existing tin production."
Exploration Programme
The current exploration programme aims to upgrade the existing resource classification for lithium and tantalum over the areas where tin is currently classified within the measured and indicated categories for the 2019 JORC (2012) compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) (see announcement dated 16 September 2019). The pegmatite intersections of the reported holes align with the current geological model, confirming its spatial accuracy. The drill holes intersected the pegmatite where the V1 and V2 bodies have bifurcated into individual units, and in some holes the V1 pegmatite has an offshoot into the hanging wall (referred to as the V1 Upper in Table 1). The dip angle of the pegmatites varies from 24 degrees to 48 degrees and the majority of the reported drill holes are orientated vertically such that reported intersections represent apparent thickness.
Table1: Exploration results of diamond drill holes V1V2028, V1V2032, V1V2070, V1V2072, V1V2075, and V1V2077 and RC drill holes V1V2069, V1V2071, V1V2074, V1V2076 and V1V2079 indicating the pegmatite intersection widths and pegmatite grades. Intersections indicate apparent thickness and not true thickness. The apparent thickness is greater than the true thickness.
Hole ID | Dip Angle (Degrees) | Drill type | Pegmatite | Pegmatite Intersection, Including Waste, From/To (m) | Pegmatite Intersection, Excluding Waste, From/To (m) | Intersection Length (m) | Grade | ||
Sn (%) | Ta (ppm) | Li2O (%) | |||||||
V1V2028 | Vertical | DD | V2 | 121-136 | 121.39-135.40 | 14.01 | 0.131 | 95 | 0.38 |
V1V2032 | -81 | DD | V2 | 149-185 | 149.92-185.16 | 35.24 | 0.149 | 77 | 0.94 |
V1V2070 | Vertical | DD | V1 | 69-108 | 69.32-108.06 | 38.74 | 0.177 | 147 | 0.49 |
V1V2072 | Vertical | DD | V1 | 5-48 | 5.11-6.03 | 0.92 | 5.154 | 582 | 0.32 |
6.93-12.04 | 5.11 | 0.186 | 143 | 0.38 | |||||
13.32-47.88 | 34.56 | 0.186 | 116 | 0.57 | |||||
V1V2075 | Vertical | DD | V1 | 52-98 | 52.22-58.61 | 6.39 | 0.102 | 138 | 0.51 |
59.55-93.42 | 33.87 | 0.121 | 98 | 0.76 | |||||
95.03-97.97 | 2.94 | 0.040 | 275 | 0.28 | |||||
V1V2077 | Vertical | DD | V1 | 21-41 | 21.56-22.31 | 0.75 | 0.056 | 50 | 0.41 |
23.48-41.21 | 17.73 | 0.283 | 128 | 0.37 | |||||
V1V2069 | Vertical | RC | V1 Upper | 75-82 | 75.00-82.00 | 7 | 0.095 | 215 | 0.26 |
V1 | 91-154 | 91.00-147.00 | 56 | 0.193 | 109 | 0.42 | |||
V1V2071 | Vertical | RC | V1 | 31-86 | 31.00-86.00 | 55 | 0.165 | 94 | 0.49 |
V1V2074 | Vertical | RC | V1 | 72-105 | 72.00-105.00 | 33 | 0.155 | 122 | 0.47 |
V1V2076 | Vertical | RC | V1 Upper | 2-19 | 2.00-19.00 | 17 | 0.083 | 108 | 0.47 |
V1 | 46-71 | 46.00-71.00 | 25 | 0.197 | 140 | 0.6 | |||
V1V2079 | Vertical | RC | V1 | 69-105 | 69.00-105.00 | 36 | 0.141 | 151 | 0.52 |
The drilled holes comprised reverse circulation drilling (RC) and diamond drilling (DD). Each drill hole was geologically logged with the DD drill holes also being geotechnically logged before sampling at approximately one-meter intervals. Sample analysis was undertaken by UIS Analytical Services, a certified independent laboratory, using a peroxide fusion and analysis, with ICP-OES utilised for major and minor elements and ICP-MS utilised for trace elements.
Figure 1: Map displaying the localities of the reported holes, together with the drill holes from a previous (2019) exploration programme and holes from the current programme previously reported. The line A-A' indicates the area represented by the cross section in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Section line A-A' displaying a projection of the holes drilled during the current programme for which results are reported in this release
Competent Person Statement
The technical data in this announcement has been reviewed by Michael Cronwright (M.Sc., FGSSA, Pr. Sci Nat. (Geological Sciences)). He is a full-time employee of CSA Global, and provides geological consulting services to AfriTin. Mr Cronwright is a Principal Consultant - Battery Metals for CSA Global and has 22 years of industry related exploration and mineral project development experience, as well as a Competent Person for the reporting of exploration results. He has reviewed both the technical disclosures in this release as well as the quality assurance protocols and results for the assay campaign. Mr Cronwright consents to the release of the information contained in the announcement and is satisfied that the results of the QAQC on the assay results released to date are sufficient to support the planned estimation of Mineral Resources.
Glossary of abbreviations
DD | Diamond Drilling |
ICP-MS | Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry |
ICP-OES | Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry |
Li | Symbol for Lithium |
Li → Li2O | Metal to metal-oxide conversion factor of 2.153 |
Li2O | Lithium oxide |
JORC | The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves |
MRE | Mineral Resource Estimate |
PPM | Parts Per Million |
QA/QC | Quality Assurance / Quality Control |
RC | Reverse Circulation drilling |
Sn | Symbol for Tin |
Ta | Symbol for Tantalum |
V1/V2 | Name of the targeted pegmatite unit, V1/V2 denotes where the V1 and V2 pegmatites have merged at depth. |
Glossary of Technical Terms
Apparent Thickness | The relationship between apparent width and true thickness is based on the formula by Addie (1968 Economic Geology, vol 63, pp 188-189) |
Dip Angle | The angle of inclination measured downward from horizontal |
Geological Model | The interpretation of mineralisation and geology that controls mineralisation. This is usually generated in a three-dimensional computer environment |
Mineral Resources | Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than an Inferred Mineral Resource but has a lower level of confidence than a Measured Mineral Resource |
Pegmatite | An igneous rock typically of granitic composition, which is distinguished from other igneous rocks by the extremely coarse and systematically variable size of its crystals, or by an abundance of crystals with skeletal, graphic, or other strongly directional growth habits, or by a prominent spatial zonation of mineral assemblages, including monomineralic zones |
Xenolith | A foreign rock fragment (e.g. schist) within an intrusive body (e.g. pegmatite) that is unrelated to the igneous body. |
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 |
Emily Moss Catherine Drummond Adam Baynes |
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 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.