Last checked at 22 Dec 2022 07:00
22 December 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")
Quarterly Production Update
Record Production During November 2022 Following Plant Expansion
AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African technology metals mining company with a portfolio of mining and exploration assets in Namibia, provides an unaudited quarterly production update for the Uis Mine ("Uis") for the third quarter ("Q3") ending 30 November 2022 of the 2023 Financial Year ("FY2023")*.
Highlights:
· Commissioning of the expanded crushing and tin concentrating circuits completed during October 2022;
· Record tin production of 88 tonnes of concentrate (53 tonnes of tin contained) achieved during November 2022, equal to 88% of the expanded nameplate production capacity of 100 tonnes of concentrate per month;
· Operating unit cost for November 2022 was 14% lower than average monthly unit cost for H1 FY2023 ending 31 August 2022;
· Production ramp-up on track for completion by end of January 2023; and
· Lithium pilot plant and tantalum separation circuit under construction and on track for commissioning in Q2 2023.
Anthony Viljoen (CEO) commented:
"We are extremely pleased with the production ramp-up performance of the expanded Uis Mine processing plant as evidenced by the November 2022 production which exceeded the target by 20%. We believe the expanded production capacity will significantly increase revenue and reduce unit costs, thereby improving the margin and sustainability of the operation.
In addition, the Company is fast tracking the development of separate lithium and tantalum products alongside its existing tin production, with both a lithium pilot and a tantalum separation circuit under construction. We look forward to realising the full polymetallic potential of the Uis deposit."
Production Ramp-up
Commissioning of the Uis Phase 1 Expansion Project ("the Project"), a modular expansion of the current processing plant, was completed in October 2022 and announced on 7 November 2022. The Project targets an increase in production at Uis from approximately 780 tonnes per annum ("tpa") to 1200 tpa tin concentrate (470 tpa and 720 tpa tin contained in concentrate respectively). The production ramp-up period is estimated to last for 3 months, from November 2022 to January 2023.
During November 2022, the first month of production following commissioning, the ramp-up target was exceeded by 20% (88 tonnes of tin concentrate vs a target of 73 tonnes). The production of 88 tonnes of tin concentrate (containing 53 tonnes of tin) achieved during November 2022 also represents a new monthly production record.
Q3 Production Performance
Production during Q3 FY2023 was impacted by a planned 5-week processing plant shutdown from 7 September 2022 to 13 October 2022, which was required to complete the construction and commissioning of the expanded crushing and tin concentrating circuits. This resulted in a loss of approximately one third of the available production time during the quarter under review. An average of 90 kt of ore was processed at an average processing rate of 107 tph (excluding the plant shutdown period), resulting in a tin concentrate production of 145 tonnes (Table 1). The operating unit cost for the quarter also rose concurrently with the lower production volumes.
Management is, however, encouraged by the record production achieved during November 2022, after commissioning of the plant expansion (Table 2). Compared to the monthly average performance during H1 FY2023, the plant processing rate has increased by 17%, ore processed has increased by 22%, tin concentrate production has increased by 16%, and the operating unit cost has decreased by 14% (unaudited). It is expected that these trends will continue as the production ramp-up progresses.
Table 1: QoQ (Q3 FY2023 vs Q2 FY2023) production and cost performance of the Uis Mine.
Description | Units | FY2022 Actual Quarterly Average (Mar 2021 - Feb 2022) | Q1 FY2023 Actual (Mar 2022 - May 2022) | Q2 FY2023 Actual (Jun 2022 - Aug 2022) | Q3 FY2023 Actual (Sep 2022 - Nov 2022) | QoQ Performance (% Change) |
Plant Availability | % | 87 | 89 | 89 | 73† | -18% |
Plant Utilisation | % | 79 | 78 | 69 | 63† | -9% |
Plant Processing Rate | tph | 92 | 99 | 100 | 107 | 7% |
Ore Processed | t | 135,900 | 152,243 | 134,315 | 90,278† | -33% |
Feed Grade | % Sn | 0.147 | 0.149 | 0.145 | 0.140 | -3% |
Tin Concentrate | t | 201 | 239 | 214 | 145† | -32% |
Tin Contained in Concentrate | t | 124 | 152 | 133 | 87† | -35% |
Tin Recovery | % | 62 | 67 | 69 | 68† | -1% |
Operating Cost* for Uis Tin Mine | US$/t contained tin | 25,209 | 20,989 | 25,245 | 33,207† | 32% |
AISC** for Uis Tin Mine | US$/t contained tin | 27,515 | 23,526 | 29,282 | 38,570† | 32% |
Tin Price Achieved | US$/t contained tin | 38,604 | 34,367 | 22,975 | 22,625 | -2% |
* Operating Cost (excludes sustaining capital expenditure associated with developing and maintaining the Uis operation; unaudited)
** AISC = All-In Sustaining Cost (incorporates all costs related to sustaining production and in particular recognising the capital expenditure associated with developing and maintaining the Uis operation, including pre-stripping waste mining costs; unaudited)
† Production period includes a 5-week shutdown of the processing plant from 7 September 2022 to 13 October 2022, which was required to complete the construction and commissioning of the expanded crushing and tin concentrating circuits.
Table 2: Production and cost performance for November 2022 compared to the average monthly performance for the Uis Mine for H1 FY2023 ending 31 August 2022.
Description | Units | H1 FY2023 Actual Monthly Average (Mar 2022 - Aug 2022) | Nov 2022 Actual
| Change in Monthly Performance (%) |
Plant Availability | % | 89 | 91 | 2% |
Plant Utilisation | % | 74 | 81 | 9% |
Plant Processing Rate | tph | 100 | 117 | 17% |
Ore Processed | t | 47,760 | 58,333 | 22% |
Feed Grade | % Sn | 0.147 | 0.140 | -5% |
Tin Concentrate | t | 76 | 88 | 16% |
Tin Contained in Concentrate | t | 48 | 53 | 10% |
Tin Recovery | % | 68 | 67 | -1% |
Operating Cost for Uis Tin Mine | US$/t contained tin | 23,117 | 19,883 | -14% |
AISC for Uis Tin Mine | US$/t contained tin | 26,404 | 22,763 | -14% |
Lithium Pilot Plant and Tantalum Separation Circuit
As announced on 7 December 2022, a lithium pilot plant and tantalum separation circuit are currently under construction. The lithium pilot plant is intended to process bulk samples into a lithium concentrate, with the aim of refining the process flow design for lithium, as well as for offtake testing and development. The tantalum separation circuit will be integrated with the existing tin concentrating plant to produce a separate saleable tantalum concentrate. Commissioning of both projects is scheduled for Q2 2023.
Glossary of abbreviations
AISC | All-in sustaining costs |
FY | Financial year |
kt | Kilo tonnes |
Mt | Million tonnes |
QoQ | Quarter-on-quarter |
t | Tonnes |
tph | Tonnes per hour |
Glossary of Terms
Operating Costs | Excludes sustaining capital expenditure associated with developing and maintaining the Uis operation (unaudited) |
AISC = All-In Sustaining Cost | Incorporates all costs related to sustaining production and in particular recognising the sustaining capital expenditure associated with developing and maintaining the Uis operation, including pre-stripping waste mining costs (unaudited) |
* The Company's Financial Year runs from March to February. All reference to quarters applies to the financial year reporting period, unless stated otherwise.
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 Varun Talwar | +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.