Andrada Mining. Regulatory News (ATM)

Andrada Mining Limited

(Previously AfriTin Mining Limited)

("Andrada" or the "Company")

Publication of the Inaugural Sustainability Report

Andrada Mining Limited (previously 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 the publication of its inaugural Sustainability Report.

The report details the Company's sustainability performance for the 2022 financial year (1 March 2021 - 28 February 2022) and details how the Company aims to comply with the requirements of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board ("SASB") and the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Company has created a dedicated environment, social and governance ("ESG") department and looks to integrate ESG into Andrada's operating model. This report provides a baseline for future ESG benchmarking, which will help the Company to track performance and ensure transparent reporting to all stakeholders.

Link to Sustainability Report: https://andradamining.com/company-reports/Sustainability-Report-2022.pdf

HIGHLIGHTS

In the period 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022:

§ Combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gases ("GHG") emissions from the Uis Mine ("the Mine" or "Uis") activities were less than 8.2% of the Equator Principles Annual Threshold at 8 208 tonnes of CO2e produced, or 0.018 tonnes of CO2e per tonnes of ore processed;

§ The Mine abstracted water from non-potable groundwater (permitted borehole network) and surface water through a historical mining pit at a water-use intensity of 0.33 m3 per tonne of ore processed;

§ 315 total employees at the Uis Mine, of which 128 were permanent staff and 187 were contractors, all of whom were Namibian citizens;

§ 75% of senior managers at Uis were women;

§ N$143 million (£6.8 million), or 49%, of expenditure at Uis was spent across more than 250 Namibian suppliers; and

§ 86% of employees and 36% of all contractors attended Health, Safety and Emergency Response Training.

Commenting on the report, CEO Anthony Viljoen (CEO) said:

"We are pleased to release our maiden Sustainability Report that describes our approach to sustainability, the policies that guide our ESG implementation process and our performance for the financial year ended 28 February 2022. We recognise that the integration of ESG principles into our Company's business model is an important step in the Company's evolution into a significant tech-metals producer. Furthermore, our ambition is to lead by example and our Board is therefore ultimately responsible for our sustainability efforts across the Company. The Board is supported in this by the ESG Committee which was formed in August 2021. Andrada has shown ESG improvements over this past financial year, as is showcased within the report, and the team is committed to continual improvement in performance."

REPORT OVERVIEW

Andrada has structured the report around four key priorities, namely environmental stewardship, employees, communities, as well as health and safety. The report details the Company's sustainability performance for the 2022 financial year (1 March 2021 - 28 February 2022).

Environmental stewardship

Andrada is committed to investigating and investing in renewable, lower-carbon energy solutions, and energy efficient initiatives to reduce GHG emissions in the future. An important way to track the Company's impacts on climate change is by monitoring the GHG emissions and energy use.

Andrada's total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in the reporting period were 8 208 tCO2e compared to the 100 000 tCO2e Equator Principles Annual Threshold ("Equator Threshold"). The Company's annual emissions were therefore 8.2% of the Equator Threshold or 91.8% lower than the Equator Threshold. By effectively managing energy use, Andrada can reduce its GHG emissions, achieve higher production efficiency, and potentially lower direct mining costs. Furthermore, the Company has undertaken a climate change risk assessment for operations at Uis to identify how climate change may affect operations and how operation may affect climate change. Details of this assessment will be outlined in the 2023 Sustainability Report.

A critical focus for Andrada is sustainable water management, particularly in the arid environment in which Uis is located. The Uis Mine abstracted non-potable groundwater from a permitted borehole network and surface water through a historical mining pit at a water-use intensity of 0.33 m3 per tonne of ore processed during the reporting period.

Employees

The diversity and talent of the employees are critical factors to the success of the business. The Company strives to develop and retain a distinctively diverse and talented workforce, whilst fostering a supportive and understanding organisation by creating an environment where individuals realise their potential. The Uis Mine employed 128 permanent employees and 187 additional staff through contracting companies during the reporting period. At Uis, 31% of the employees were women, three of whom held senior management positions by the end of the financial year.

The rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining are integrated into Andrada's Human Rights policy. Therefore, the Company has fostered open communication with the employees and representative unions resulting in no strike action or lockouts at Uis in the year under review. Andrada is committed to continually addressing employee concerns transparently and productively.

Communities

Local communities are critical sustainability partners and Andrada aims to source members of its talented workforce from these local communities. Andrada is also mindful of its obligations to these communities, and the wider stakeholder base, in maintaining its social licence to operate. Ensuring the communities and countries in which the Company operates share in the value created is a core value of Andrada.

One of the key areas identified for support and investment in these communities is education. Quality education can be considered a social and economic elevator. To help drive educational outcomes in Uis the Company is involved in several community development and investment projects such as supporting students from local schools with meals, housing, stationery, and sports supplies.

To the extent practicable, the supply chain prioritises procurement from Namibian local and national businesses before looking to the rest of Africa or internationally. The total expenditure in the reporting period was approximately N$294m (£14 million) of which N$143m (£6.8 million), or 49%, was spent across more than 250 Namibian businesses. As the business grows and develops, Andrada fully intends on bringing its Namibian suppliers along.

Health and Safety

Andrada is committed to protecting the health and safety of all its people including employees, contractors, communities, and visitors by building a robust health and safety culture. This is grounded in individual and shared responsibility for health and safety, where managers and site leaders lead by example. Safety is imperative and to that effect Andrada aims to ensure that risk practices are adopted on all our mining, processing, and exploration sites.

To improve health and safety performance at Uis, the Company has implemented a health and safety monitoring system that is accessible to all employees and contractors across each area of the mine. The system enables real-time reporting across the operation which enables better responses to and understanding of incidents. This proactive approach is used to prevent future repeat incidents from occurring.

During the reporting year, the Uis Mine recorded zero fatalities, four lost time injuries ("LTIs") resulting in a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate ("LTIFR") of 6.26 per million-man hours worked, and a Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate ("TRIFR") of 12.53 per million hours worked. The Company's health and safety performance needs to improve further, and management is investigating ways to improve the health and safety culture and performance, details of which will be outlined in the 2023 Sustainability Report.

FUTURE PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING

Throughout the 2023 financial year, the ESG team has worked to develop an improved ESG strategy and a five-year strategic roadmap for achievement. Key performance indicators for the short-term and long-term periods will be communicated in the next Sustainability Report. Future work includes a water stewardship programme, a biodiversity strategy, and the climate change risk assessment to support the ESG strategy. The Company has embedded a fully-fledged ESG department at the core of its operating model. Andrada intends to continually enhance reporting and implementation by improving the disclosure on ESG risks and adopting measures to mitigate against the impacts of climate change respectively. Furthermore, Scope 3 emissions are being identified and assessed for future disclosure. 

The next comprehensive Sustainability Report will be for the 12 months ending 28 February 2023 (anticipated to be published during Q3 of 2023).

Glossary of abbreviations

For further information please visit the Company's website: www.afritinmining.com or contact:

Notes to Editors

Andrada Mining Limited, formerly Afritin Mining Limited, is a London-listed technology metals mining company with a vision to create a portfolio of globally significant, conflict-free, production and exploration assets. The Company's flagship asset is the Uis Mine in Namibia, formerly the world's largest hard-rock open cast tin mine. 

Lithium laboratory test work completed during the 2022 calendar year indicated a high-grade, ultra-low iron lithium petalite concentrate. The test work to convert lithium petalite concentrate to battery-grade lithium hydroxide was initiated with Nagrom, a leading Australian processing company, and commercial engagements with lithium petalite concentrate off - takers are on-going.

An exploration drilling programme is currently underway with the aim of expanding the tin resource over the fourteen additional, historically mined pegmatites, all of which occur within a 5 km radius of the current processing plant. The Company has set a mineral resource target of 200 Mt to be delineated within the next 5 years. The substantial mineral resource potential allows the Company to consider economies of scale.

Andrada is managed by a board of directors with extensive industry knowledge and management team with deep commercial and technical skills. Furthermore, the Company is committed to the sustainable development of its operations and the growth of its business. This is demonstrated by how the leadership team places significant emphasis on creating value for the wider community, investors, and other key stakeholders. Andrada has established an environmental, social and governance system which has been implemented at all levels of the Company and aligns with international standards.

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