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 82.5%-owned through Alphamin Resources’ DRC registered subsidiary ABM SA; 5%-owned by the DRC government and 14.25%-owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa.

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

The front-end engineering design (FEED) and control budget estimate (CBE) have increased proven and probable reserves from 3.52-million tonnes grading at 4.34% tin containing 152 800 t in the 2016 updated feasibility study to 4.67-million tonnes at 3.58% tin containing 167 300 t.

The life-of-mine has also been increased from 12 to 12.5 years.

The completion of the FEED programme and CBE in February this year further confirmed the robust economic metrics and potential of the project, as well as development into North Kivu’s first commercial mine and a new premier global tin-producing mine.

The CBE results have illustrated the project’s potential to remain profitable at lower tin prices and increased prices for key consumables.

The fundamental mining method has not changed, but the layout and mine design parameters have changed notably from the updated feasibility study issued in June 2016.

Contractors will mine the Mpama North orebody using proven underground mechanised mining methods to deliver ore to the process plant at an expected rate of 25 000 t/m to 35 000 t/m.

The process design is based on the recovery of tin into concentrate through conventional gravity separation methods. The process plant design capacity has been estimated at between 360 000 t/y and 400 000 t/y.

Potential Job Creation
The mine has nearly 1 000 workers on site – 800 unskilled workers from the communities, up to 30% of whom are former artisanal miners – working on the development of the mine.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The FEED and CBE have estimated a net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $402.2-million and an internal rate of return of 49.1% after tax. Payback has been estimated at 17 months from first production.

This compares with 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 in the updated feasibility study.

Value
The peak funding requirement for the project has increased from $124.4-million in the updated feasibility study to $151.43-million in the CBE.

The initial capital costs include the design and development of an access road, an underground mine, the creation of a 64 000 t ore stockpile, a process plant, a tailings storage facility and all associated services required for the operation of the mine.

Duration
The company is aiming to produce its first tin concentrate during the first half of 2019.

Latest Developments
Alphamin is working to jump the final funding hurdle for its Bisie tin project through a secondary inward listing on the AltX of the JSE.

The company has raised or secured commitment for about $140-million, including a new $80-million credit facility and a prior $22.3-milion equity fundraising, of the $172.1-million peak funding required to build the project.

South Africa’s IDC has committed to investing $13.7-million at project level, while existing major shareholder Tremont Master has committed to investing $24.7-million in Alphamin’s proposed R56.1-million private placement.

With 81.4% of the total capital now secure, Alphamin is aiming to raise a portion of the final $31.4-million required to build the project through the AltX listing and final equity raising by the end of the year.

In July, the company raised $22.3-million, and on November 13, it obtained project debt funding of $80-million in a definitive credit agreement with Sprott Private Resource Lending, Barak Fund and Tremont for a senior secured, nonrevolving, five-year-term credit facility.

The company is confident that the riskiest aspects of the project have been addressed, with the last of the artisanal miners set to exit the region by January, the access roads and key infrastructure now in place and mine construction is well under way.

Bisie completed the boxcut for the underground portal and has progressed the decline nearly 60 m underground and advancing into hard rock.

The access road between the Walikale–Kisangani road route and the project has also been opened, enabling trucks to make regular deliveries of material and equipment to the mine.

The construction and inauguration of the Lukaa school near Logu has also been completed.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Kongo River (earthworks) and Reliant Congo (mining contract).

On Budget and on Time?
The project remains on schedule for commissioning early in 2019 and steady-state production before the end of 2019.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alphamin Resources CEO Boris Kamstra, tel +230 269 4166 or email boris.kamstra@alphaminresources.com.