Name of the Project
Bisie tin project.

Location
The project is located in the Mpama North prospect, in North Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Client
The Bisie tin project is 80.75%-owned through Alphamin’s DRC registered subsidiary, ABM SA; 5%-owned by the DRC government; and 14.25%-owned by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.

Project Description
The Bisie project comprises two exceptional high-grade deposits — Mpama North and Mpama South — and is one of the highest-grade known tin deposits in the world.

The project has probable mineral reserves of 3.52-million tonnes grading at 4.34% tin, containing 152 800 t of tin at a 1.8% tin cutoff grade. An estimated 9 000 t/y of tin in concentrate will be produced giving a life-of-mine (LoM) of 12 years.

Tin recovered over the life of the mine has been estimated at about 109.3-million tonnes.

The mine will have a production rate of 360 000 t/y.

Jobs to be Created
It is anticipated that ABM will employ about 700 people during construction and create about 450 permanent local jobs during operations.

As a result, significant economic benefits are expected in the DRC, which has seen little foreign investment for decades while trying to overcome security and governance challenges.

Indirect job creation is expected to be far higher than the mine’s direct jobs and can be reasonably expected to achieve the 1:14 ratio of direct to indirect jobs commonly reported in Africa for similar projects, potentially resulting in an additional 6 300 jobs.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax net present value, at a 13.54% discount rate, of $167.79 million and an internal rate of return of 48.4%, with a payback of 23 months.

Value
The peak funding requirement for the project has been estimated at $151.43-million.

Duration
On the assumption that construction activities will start in the third quarter of 2017, first production of tin in concentrate is expected in the fourth quarter of 2018. Steady-state production is expected by 2019.

Latest Developments
Infrastructure development on the project is well under way and construction of the mine will start in the first quarter of this year, allowing for first production of tin concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2018, which is when the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI) has forecast the start of a global tin shortfall.

The ITRI monitors tin projects worldwide and ranks Bisie, in the eastern region of the DRC, as the second-largest project in terms of contained tin and grade.

Alphamin Resources has said that all indications are that Bisie is not an isolated occurrence and that there are probably more mineralised areas in the area around the project. The company has noted that it is possible that Alphamin will develop an entire tin province, which will secure supply to industry for many years.

Drilling programmes have confirmed the significant potential of Bisie and the company has decided to develop the project based on the extraordinary grades that have been encountered, combined with the excellent metallurgical recoveries that have underpinned a strong business case.

Subsequently, the company has made positive strides, which include releasing a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource statement and confirming a significant increase of 34% in its mineral resources at the Mpama North prospect, at Bisie. The results underpin excellent potential to define significant additional tin resources to increase the LoM at Mpama North, thus unlocking further investment potential.

Alphamin Resources CEO Boris Kamstra has said that the reason for the 34% increase is that the drilling programme was still ongoing at that stage.

In January, it was announced that the Bisie mining project had received official endorsement, with a strong vote of government support when the North Kivu government support committee for the development of the tin project was established.

Site accessibility has been another challenge, but this is being resolved by developing an access road. The road is being upgraded to provide access to the site for most vehicles, allowing for the mobilisation of mineworkers and heavy machinery needed to build the mine.

The upgrade will be completed in phases. The first phase is to get a running surface that most vehicles can traverse and then this will get upgraded further with solid wearing courses. An all-weather road to Bisie is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Beyond the core mining development, the project has had a positive impact on the surrounding community, Kamstra has said.

The project has made a significant contribution to the area, with the community now having cellphone connectivity, owing to a tower operated by telecommunications services provider Vodacom. The project is expected to create 450 permanent jobs and about 6 300 indirect jobs.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alphamin Resources Corp, tel +230 269 4166.