Andrada Mining. Regulatory News (ATM)

16 June 2020

AfriTin Mining Limited

("AfriTin" or the "Company")

Operational Update

&

Uis Tin Mine Phase 1 Review

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 an operational update and publish its Phase 1 review highlights.

Highlights

▪ Mining operations returned to full scale following easing of COVID-19 lockdown measures in Namibia;

▪ Strict COVID-19 mitigation measures implemented across the Company to safeguard workforce;

▪ Phase 1 Pilot Plant throughput delayed, but has increased steadily month-on-month, with optimization work resumed to reach design capacity;

▪ Internal review with a financial evaluation model for Phase 1 Pilot Plant operation which now includes identified staged modifications that could potentially increase NPV to USD 122m and IRR to 60%, by:

o 50% increased production capacity and improved recoveries beyond initial design capacity;

o Further expansion of tin and tantalum concentrate production; and

o Processing of lithium ore to generate a new by-product revenue stream.

▪ The Uis JORC (2012) compliant mineral resource of 95,539 tonnes of tin, 6,091 tonnes of tantalum and 450,265 tonnes of lithium oxide for the V1 and V2 pegmatites, establishes a globally significant resource; and

▪ Fourth shipment of tin concentrate has been dispatched in June 2020.

Anthony Viljoen, CEO of AfriTin Mining Limited commented:

"I am pleased to report the easing of measures in Namibia and South Africa following the COVID-19 lock-down and the implementation of new health measures across the Company to protect our employees from the global pandemic.

We have not been immune to the disruptions caused by the lockdowns and have experienced delays in the supply chain from Namibia and South Africa. This disruption has impacted the optimization process, but activity levels have now returned to pre-lockdown levels and the ramp up is steadily increasing month-on-month towards design capacity.

We are working hard to optimize the Pilot Plant and are pleased to announce the results of an internal review which should see increased production capacity, and the potential extraction of lithium as an additional revenue stream along with tantalum.

Our Phase 1 Pilot Plant was designed to deliver early positive cash flows, while demonstrating the feasibility of a much larger Phase 2 mine development on this significant multi-commodity deposit. The results of the internal financial model show that the plant, with a few modifications, has the capability and potential of producing an IRR of 60% and an NPV of USD122m for all stages of Phase 1. Our long-term focus remains on ramping up the project as part of the planned Phase 2, which will ultimately be responsible for approximately 1% of global tin supply."

COVID-19 update

As previously announced, the Republic of Namibia implemented lockdown across the country on 27 March 2020 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has now commenced a gradual easing of the lockdown conditions, which has seen the resumption of some non-essential services and all mining activities. The Company utilised the lockdown period to review and fortify health and safety protocols at its facilities, implement a period of intense forward planning, maintenance, and continued supply of ore to the plant from existing stockpiles.

Following the easing of lockdown restrictions, the Company has been allowed to return to full scale operations. Mining activities have resumed with strict safety and health measures, including health monitoring, hygiene controls and social distancing, enacted to protect both company employees and contractors operating on site. The health, safety and well-being of employees, contractors and the local community remains of utmost importance to the Company. All necessary steps to mitigate a possible outbreak have been taken, and the Company is happy to report that there continue to be no confirmed cases of COVID-19 across all operations to date.

During the period of lockdown, the Company dispatched the fourth shipment of tin concentrate from Uis to Thailand Smelting and Refining Co. Limited ("Thaisarco"), taking total tin concentrate produced at site to date to 75 tonnes.

Results of Internal Phase 1 Pilot Plant Review

As part of the current Phase 1 implementation and production ramp-up, AfriTin performed an internal financial and operational review to accompany the mineral resource estimate (JORC 2012) conducted by CSA Global and announced on 16 September 2019. A review report can be found on the Company's website at http://afritinmining.com/company-reports/ .

Project Development Strategy & Future Expansion

The project development strategy for the Uis Tin Project dovetails with AfriTin's corporate strategy of a fast-tracked, but risk mitigated, pathway to growing company value through the establishment of free cash flows, while developing a schedule towards an expanded, large-scale Phase 2 plant. This translates into the following objectives:

1. Confirm the historical mineral resources and beyond;

2. Establish a mining and processing operation of sufficient scale to be commercially viable and provide free cash flows;

3. Expand the revenue stream from tin concentrate to include other viable by-products, with particular emphasis on tantalum and lithium; and

4. Use the pilot facility as a potential platform to develop a large-scale operation.

In line with these objectives the Company elected to understand and develop the Uis asset in two phases. The first phase (Phase 1) confirming the historical mineral resources and establishing a pilot mining and processing facility, and the second phase (Phase 2) of expanding the resource and developing a large-scale operation producing at least 5,000 tonnes of tin concentrate, representing approximately 1% of the global tin supply - to become a producer of scale.

The implementation of Phase 1 currently in progress, is defined in more granularity by Stage I, II, III and IV. These stages are explained in the sections below.

The JORC (2012) compliant mineral resource released by AfriTin in Q3 2019 delineated 95,539 tonnes of tin metal, 6,091 tonnes of tantalum metal and 450,265 tonnes of lithium oxide (including measured, indicated and inferred categories) within the V1 and V2 pegmatites, which were the first pegmatites targeted for mining. This alone signifies the Uis deposit as a resource of global significance. At Phase 1 nameplate production the total V1/V2 resource from measured and indicated categories is sufficient to continuously supply the operations with ore for more than 40 years.

In addition to the V1 and V2 pegmatites, another 14 pegmatites were historically mined in the Uis area. The geological team has also identified more than 180 other pegmatites which display visible cassiterite mineralization and occur within 5 km of the Phase 1 pilot plant.

Review of Stage I of Phase 1

Stage I of the Phase 1 pilot plant envisages Run-Of-Mine ("ROM") ore crushed and beneficiated in a processing plant designed for a capacity of 566,400 tonnes per annum, to produce 787 tonnes of tin concentrate and 40 tonnes of tantalum concentrate.

The processing plant flow sheet consists of a comminution (crushing) section and a concentrator section. Crushing to a top size of 6.4 mm is conducted in four stages. From the primary crusher, ore is conveyed to the primary stockpile, from where it is fed to the secondary crushing plant, after which the ore passes through another three stages of comminution.

At the start of the concentrating section, ore is screened into a coarse fraction (larger than 0.5 mm) and a fine fraction. The coarse fraction is beneficiated in three stages of dense medium separation ("DMS"), being pre-concentration, concentration and scavenging. The fine fraction is deslimed and then passed through rougher and scavenging spiral sections. Both the coarse and fine concentrates are upgraded and cleaned on shaking tables and low intensity magnetic separators.

Cleaned concentrate is passed through a high intensity magnetic separator to produce a tin and a tantalum concentrate, both of which are dewatered, bagged and stored in the concentrate store prior to transport.

All plant discard streams are dewatered prior to disposal, maximising water conservation and negating the need for tailings facilities. Coarse and fine tailings are dewatered on vibrating screens, while slimes are dewatered through a thickener and filter press combination. Recovered water is reused in the process. Dewatered tailings are co-disposed with mining waste rock.

Stage I Production Ramp-up

The commissioning of the Pilot Plant commenced in August 2019 and Stage I of the Phase 1 mining and processing facility remains in the ramp-up phase. Mining production from the open pit has largely been constrained by the slower than expected ramp-up of the processing plant. The ROM ore stockpile has increased to more than 75,000 tonnes, providing a substantial buffer between mining and processing operations.

Plant throughput has increased steadily month-on-month, although current production remains below the design capacity. Debottlenecking of the plant, combined with various other initiatives to improve availability and utilisation, support the ramp-up to steady state production.

The particle size distribution of the ROM feed proved to be finer than initial design parameters derived from test work. This resulted in a bottleneck in the fines dewatering section of the plant which is being addressed through increasing the capacity of the slimes and grits dewatering circuits. The abrasiveness of the ore material is causing high wear rates in processing and conveying circuits and negatively impacting on plant availability. Mitigating measures include the introduction of abrasion resistant materials, optimisation of flow lines and enhanced maintenance planning. Various initiatives are also in progress to improve the operability of the plant, including the installation of additional instrumentation, process controls, and buffer capacity in selected circuits.

Although initial tin recoveries are lower than expected, it is nevertheless anticipated that the effect of increased plant throughput from the debottlenecking measures will go some way to achieving nameplate tin recovery (Stage I of Phase 1) of 60%. Initiatives aimed at improving process efficiency and liberation of the middlings stream, are in progress. Test work is currently underway to determine the optimal liberation point and magnetic separation characteristics of tantalum bearing minerals. No tantalum concentrate has yet been produced, but implementation of an optimised tantalum magnetic separation circuit is expected during H2 2020.

The production ramp-up of the Phase 1 Pilot Plant has been impacted by COVID-19 lockdown measures in both Namibia and South Africa, significantly affecting the Company's supply chain. As previously stated, the subsequent relaxation of restrictions has allowed the Company's operations in Namibia to return to normal and the production ramp-up has resumed in earnest. Supply chain disruptions have however impacted the scope and timing of the planned maintenance and debottlenecking shutdown aimed at increasing the processing capability of the plant. Installation and commissioning of the grits dewatering circuit has now been successfully completed and an upgrade to the slimes dewatering circuit has commenced. These projects are planned as part of the debottlenecking modifications which are intended to increase throughput to 80 tph, as the Company continues to advance to nameplate capacity of approximately 65 tonnes of tin concentrate per month towards the end of H2 2020. The recent loan note (refer to RNS on 5 May 2020) will fund these initiatives.

Stage II, III and IV Expansion

Upon achieving steady state production of the Phase 1 pilot plant, the Company intends enhancing the profitability of the plant by increasing the production capacity of the Phase 1 processing plant beyond the current Stage I, in three further stages:

Stage II. Increase production capacity and recovery through:

· Increasing the throughput capacity by 50% from 80 tph to 120 tph. This can be achieved by modular expansion of individual circuits.

· Improving the overall recovery of tin from 60% to 70% by adding beneficiation capacity for tailings streams in the concentrator, which are currently discarded.

· Improving the overall recovery of tantalum from 15% to 30% by optimising liberation between the tin and tantalum bearing minerals and improved magnetic separation efficiency.

Stage III. Introduce a second by-product:

· Add a circuit to produce a petalite concentrate at 4% Li2O to sell into the glass and ceramics market. Initial metallurgical test work has demonstrated the potential of producing a saleable concentrate.

Stage IV. Further expand tin and tantalum concentrate production:

· Increase the average concentrator plant feed tin grade from 0.139% to 0.158% through the implementation of an automated ore sorting circuit after the first two crushing stages to reject barren pegmatite before the final stages of comminution and then concentration.

It is anticipated that the above stages will be financed by organic growth cash flows and long-term facilities where necessary. This financing will be independent of the full Phase 2 expansion financing which remains ongoing. Results from all stages of Phase 1 currently being undertaken will be utilised as advanced testwork to mitigate risk in the full-scale 5,000 tonnes per annum tin concentrate plant we envisage for Uis.

Project Financial Evaluation

A financial model was prepared based on techno-economic parameters to evaluate the Phase 1 project.

This financial model is internally produced by AfriTin Mining. It has not been independently verified and it is provided for guidance purposes only.

The following table sets out the exchange rate and commodity price assumptions.

\* The tin price assumptions are based on those published by the International Tin Association ("ITA") which publishes forward prices to 2023. AfriTin has modelled to 2024 and used the same average price increase used by the ITA for its own modelling purposes beyond 2023.

Sunk capital costs of US$10m for Uis to date (and to nameplate production) have not been included in the model. Future capital costs have been included as follows: US$11m for Phase 1, Stage II; US$10m for Phase 1, Stage III and US$7.5m for Phase 1, Stage IV. Ongoing sustaining capital costs have been estimated at 3% of total projected operating costs.

The financial evaluation of the Phase 1 Project is based only on the measured portion of the mineral resource estimate, namely 21.54 million tonnes of ore at a head grade of 0.139%. This has a bearing on the calculation of net present value and internal rate of return and is considered a prudent approach pending the completion of a total mineral reserve estimate.

A government royalty of 3% on the value of all product sold (less logistical costs) is levied in Namibia. Corporate tax has been set at 37.5%. In calculating the free cash flows for discounting purposes, establishment and sustaining capital expenditure are assumed to be deducted from taxable profit over a period of 3 years following the year that the expenditure was incurred. Any assessed losses are carried over to subsequent years.

The nominal weighted average cost of capital ("WACC") was calculated at 11.8% assuming a gearing ratio of 50%, a cost of debt of 7.0% and a cost of equity of 16.5%. The discount factor applied for the purpose of the discounted cash flow was therefore also 11.8%.

The NPV for all stages of the Phase 1 development has been calculated by using projected undiscounted free cash flow. Updated Phase 1 economics demonstrating the economic potential of the additional three stages are presented in the table below.

Applying a 20% sensitivity to the price of tin has the following impact on the NPV and IRR:

a) 20% increase in the price of tin (Sn)

b) 20% reduction in the price of tin (Sn)

Infrastructure

The planned stages of production expansion will require a larger supply of electrical power and water. However, it is estimated that the existing infrastructure will only require incremental expansion and limited capital. The existing electricity supply infrastructure can support maximum demand of 2,000 kVA. To date, maximum demand from AfriTin operations has not exceeded 1,000 kVA. The Company expects that the existing Namibian Power Corporation ("NamPower") supply agreement can be increased to match the capacity of the supply infrastructure as the electrical power is sourced from the national grid. A 1,500 kVA supply agreement was signed with NamPower, with a high-voltage (66 kV) supply offtake from the local Uis substation. AfriTin constructed its own substation to transform the supply to medium voltage (11 kV) and installed a miniature substation to distribute power at 400 V in the processing plant. Diesel generators serve as backup power to the plant.

The Company has successfully drilled and tested eight water wells of which only three are currently equipped. The existing supply network can be expanded to meet the increased water requirements and can be achieved within permitted regulations. Due to the non-potable quality of the water there are currently no competing water uses. Process water requirements are supplied from well fields and open pit lake areas in the surrounding mining area. AfriTin is currently licensed to extract 75,000 m³ of water per annum from boreholes. Raw water, unsuitable for human or animal consumption, is pumped to a bulk reservoir at the Phase 1 pilot plant and is used as plant process water. The process water requirement at steady state production is estimated to be between 10 and 15 m³/h. Access to the mine is by way of the main road between the towns of Uis and Omaruru, from which a 1 km access road has been constructed.

Environmental, Social and Governance

AfriTin complies with and holds in high regard the national safety, health & environmental laws of Namibia, in addition to its own policies and requirements. The Company strives to use resources sparingly, to reduce its footprint on the environment, stakeholders and surrounding communities, and make a lasting contribution to the upliftment and growth of the region and the country of Namibia. AfriTin is proud to be a source of conflict-free minerals.

The project area is not regarded as environmentally sensitive and is located within a historical mining domain. The non-chemical nature of ore beneficiation, combined with an ore that is largely free of deleterious elements, contributes to a reduced level of environmental risk. Nonetheless, the Company ensures compliance with its operational environmental management plan through continuous monitoring of dust, water and waste management practices.

AfriTin recognises that the management of health and safety is an integral part of its business and is committed to establishing and maintaining high standards. This is achieved through the implementation of operational health and safety policies and procedures, as well as regular risk assessment and awareness campaigns. Additional measures and strict protocols have also been introduced to mitigate risks introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Managing human capital in an equitable and sustainable way is central to the Company's project development strategy. The project has recruited approximately one third of its workforce from the local Uis community and is aiming to increase this portion through training and development programmes. All members of the permanent workforce at the mine are Namibian citizens. The Company promotes gender equality and an inclusive work environment through its recruitment practices, management and remuneration policies, and development initiatives.

The communities surrounding the mine are supported in various ways other than by direct employment. Local small and medium-sized enterprises are prioritised for procurement opportunities. Regular sponsorships are awarded to local sports teams, as well as support for the local traditional authority and various wildlife conservation initiatives.

The SMU, AfriTin's local partner in Namibia, are represented on the board of directors of its Namibian operating entity and play an active role both in the management of the company and the management of stakeholder relations in Namibia.

Competent Person Statement

The technical data in this announcement has been reviewed by Laurence Robb, a Non-Executive Director of AfriTin. Laurence Robb (BScHons, MSc, PhD, FGS, FGSSA, FRSSA) has more than 40 years of industry-related mineral project development experience. He is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist with The South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, Chartered Geologist with the Geological Society of London, and European Geologist with the European Federation of Geologists. He was Professor of Economic Geology and Director of the Economic Geology Research Institute in the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Geosciences. He is currently based at Oxford University as a Visiting Professor. He consults widely throughout Africa and holds various other corporate directorships. He has reviewed the technical disclosures in this release and consents to the release of the information contained herein.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

Except for statements of historical fact relating to AfriTin, certain statements contained in this press release and related documents, being the AfriTin Operational Update & Uis Tin Mine Phase 1 Review, may constitute forward-looking information, future oriented financial information, or financial outlooks (collectively "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information may be contained in this document and other public filings of AfriTin. Forward-looking information relates to statements concerning AfriTin's outlook, anticipated events or results, statements as to AfriTin management expectations with respect to the proposed Phase 1 Pilot plant and the combined Company and in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "projects", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

This press release also contains forward-looking statements regarding the anticipated full production of the Phase 1 Plant and timing thereof. Although AfriTin believe that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because AfriTin can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this announcement. The key risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities, including changes in government policy, government ownership requirements, changes in environmental, tax and other laws or regulations and the interpretation thereof; developments with respect to the COVID19 pandemic, including the duration, severity and scope of the pandemic and potential impacts on the Company's financial outlook, as well as its mining operations; other risk factors may include the inherent speculative nature of exploration results; the ability to explore; communications with local stakeholders; maintaining community and governmental relations; status of negotiations of joint ventures; weather conditions at Uis' operations; commodity prices; the ultimate determination of and realization of mineral reserves; existence or realization of mineral resources; the development approach; availability and receipt of required approvals, titles, licenses and permits; sufficient working capital to develop and operate the mine and implement development plans; access to adequate services and supplies; foreign currency exchange rates; interest rates; access to capital markets and associated cost of funds; availability of a qualified work force; ability to negotiate, finalize, and execute relevant agreements; social opposition to the mines or facilities; legal challenges with respect to the property of AfriTin; the timing and amount of future production; the ability to meet production, cost, and capital expenditure targets; timing and ability to produce studies and analyses; capital and operating expenditures; economic conditions; availability of sufficient financing; the ultimate ability to mine, process, and sell mineral products on economically favorable terms; and any and all other timing, exploration, development, operational, financial, budgetary, economic, legal, social, geopolitical, regulatory and political factors that may influence future events or conditions.

In addition, the Company cautions that current global uncertainty with respect to the spread of the COVID-19 virus and its effect on the broader global economy may have a significant negative effect on the Company. While the precise impact of the COVID-19 virus on the Company remains unknown, rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus may continue to have a material adverse effect on global economic activity, and may continue to result in volatility and disruption to global supply chains, operations, mobility of people and the financial markets, which could affect interest rates, credit ratings, credit risk, inflation, business, financial conditions, results of operations and other factors relevant to the Company. While we consider these factors taken into account and the assumptions that we have made when including forward-looking information to be reasonable based on information currently available to us, they may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information and statements. Forward looking information and statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties disclosed in AfriTin's filings on its website at www.afritinmining.com and on the LSE:AIM at www.londonstockexchange.com, and other unforeseen events or circumstances. Other than as required by law, AfriTin do not intend, and undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect, among other things, new information or future events.

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

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 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 5,000 tonnes of concentrate 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.

Glossary of Abbreviations

Glossary of Technical Terms