Last checked at 8 Mar 2021 07:00
8 March 2021
AfriTin Mining Limited
("AfriTin" or the "Company")
Quarterly Production Update
Target production exceeded at Uis Tin Mine
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 its inaugural quarterly production update for the twelve-month period ended 29 February 2021 (the "2021 Financial Year").
Highlights:
▪ Tin concentrate production totalled 194.5 tonnes for Q4, representing a 28% quarterly increase compared with the previous quarter, and exceeding the 180 tonnes production target; and
▪ Total production for the 2021 Financial Year amounted to 473 tonnes of tin concentrate.
The Company is pleased to report that Uis successfully maintained a production level above its steady state target during Q4 of the 2021 Financial Year. During the quarter under review, Uis surpassed the target of 180 tonnes of tin concentrate to produce 194.5 tonnes (containing 126.2 tonnes of tin metal), a 28% improvement on the previous quarter. The production level achieved in Q4 represents approximately 108% of the Stage I quarterly target in terms of tin concentrate produced and 117% of the Stage I quarterly target in terms of tin contained in concentrate. The quarterly production performance for the 2021 financial year is tabulated below.
Table 1: Quarterly performance of the Uis Phase 1 pilot plant during the 2021 financial year*.
Description | Units | 2021 Financial Year | ||||
Q1** (Mar - May) | Q2 (Jun - Aug) | Q3 (Sept - Nov) | Q4 (Dec - Feb) | Q4 vs. Q3 (% change) | ||
Plant Availability | % | 63% | 71% | 79% | 80% | 1% |
Plant Utilisation | % | 64% | 82% | 86% | 84% | -2% |
Plant Processing Rate | tph | 47 | 61 | 72 | 83 | 16% |
Ore Processed | t | 42,701 | 80,747 | 105,838 | 121,450 | 15% |
Tin Concentrate | t | 34.6 | 92.5 | 151.4 | 194.5 | 28% |
Tin Contained in Concentrate | t | 23.3 | 60.9 | 101.3 | 126.2 | 25% |
* calculated on a 100% ownership basis. Note AfriTin have a 85% interest in the Uis Project
** Operations curtailed due to Namibian COVID-19 lockdown regulations (see announcement dated 31 March 2020)
Tin concentrate production for the 2021 Financial Year totalled 473 tonnes, for a total of 311.7 tonnes of contained tin metal. The Company continues to achieve an average payability of 94% (referring to the percentage of the LME tin price realised for the tin contained in concentrate). The concentrate continues to be largely free of deleterious elements, resulting in a high grade, clean concentrate.
AfriTin is committed to further optimisation and expansion of the operation. The Company plans to develop a modular expansion of the pilot plant, and production of by-products in the form of tantalum and lithium concentrates. The Company is currently conducting test work to investigate the feasibility of magnetically separating tantalum minerals from the tin concentrate and will update the market with the results of this test work in due course.
The health, safety, and well-being of AfriTin's employees, contractors and the local community are of utmost importance to the Company. As previously announced, strict COVID-19 mitigation measures remain implemented across the Company and all necessary steps have been taken to safeguard the workforce. It is a credit to the workforce at site that these measures have been successfully implemented without having a detrimental impact on production at the mine.
Anthony Viljoen, CEO of AfriTin Mining Limited commented:
"After reaching nameplate capacity in November 2020, the team at AfriTin continues to optimise and develop our flagship asset, the Uis Tin Mine. We are delighted to release our first quarterly production update and demonstrate that the Company is operating 108% beyond our production targets for Stage I. Our work is far from complete as we look to incrementally expand our processing plant and bring additional concentrate streams online. Our positive production results have coincided with a strong tin price. The LME three-month tin price hit its 10-year high in February 2021 after unprecedented turbulence, triggered by low stocks with no sign of relief from a constrained physical supply chain."
"The global pandemic continues to affect businesses worldwide, yet by implementing all necessary safety protocols, we have minimised its impact on our production; I commend the teams working on-site for all we have achieved in this time. Our plan remains to become a large-scale, multi-stream, mining and processing facility, and we look forward to sharing these developments with the market."
For further information, please visit www.afritinmining.com or contact:
AfriTin Mining Limited |
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Anthony Viljoen, CEO | +27 (11) 268 6555 |
Nominated Adviser |
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WH Ireland Limited Katy Mitchell James Sinclair-Ford | +44 (0) 207 220 1666 |
Corporate Advisor and Joint Broker | |
Hannam & Partners Andrew Chubb Jay Ashfield Nilesh Patel | +44 (0) 20 7907 8500 |
Joint Broker |
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Turner Pope Investments Andy Thacker Zoe Alexander | +44 (0) 203 657 0050 |
Financial PR (United Kingdom) |
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Tavistock | +44 (0) 207 920 3150 |
Jos Simson Emily Moss Oliver Lamb |
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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 opencast 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 per annum 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.