Name of the Project
Uis tin project.

Location
The Uis project consists of three project areas in the Erongo region of Namibia.

Project Owner/s
AfriTin Mining.

Project Description
Uis has a non-Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant resource of 73-million tonnes grading 0.136% tin and an additional 2.7-million tonnes at 0.015% tantalum pentoxide. AfriTin has undertaken a detailed mine design for the V1 and V2 pegmatite bodies, previously identified as priority targets, to supply feed to the new intermediary processing plant.

The design of the proposed tin mine includes an initial five-year mine production schedule to start operations on the outcropping pegmatite bodies and existing excavations of the historical V1 and V2 pits.

This in-house mine plan supports an overburden stripping ratio (overburden-to-ore) of less than one and a fast ramp-up profile using conventional openpit mining methods.

Material will be liberated using drill-and-blast methods, while excavators and articulated dump trucks will be used to load and haul the ore.

The run-of-mine feed to the processing plant for this phase of development (Phase 1) is planned at 500 000 t/y, with expected production of 800 t/y of saleable tin concentrate. The target for the following phase is 5 000 t/y of tin concentrate.

The processing plant will be located close to the V1 and V2 pegmatite orebodies.
 

Other potentially viable metals include tantalum, niobium lithium, beryllium and muscovite.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start /End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
AfriTin Mining has completed the first 20 diamond drill holes at the Uis mine, which have been recommended for the validation of the historical data by CSA Global.

The drill holes form part of the drilling programme designed to support the declaration of a mineral resource estimate on the V1 and V2 pegmatite.

The holes have been geologically logged, sampled and are being analysed by a certified independent laboratory.

The completion of the drilling marks significant progress towards declaring a Jorc-compliant mineral resource for the Uis project, which is a “major step for the company . . . to confirm the historical data”, AfriTin CEO Anthony Viljoen has said.

The down-dip, step-out drilling is in progress and an initial update of the geological model indicates a close correlation between the historic drill programme and the holes completed during the programme.

The analytical results confirm that tin and tantalum mineralisation is primarily confined to pegmatite bodies. In areas where the V1 body has been separated into upper and lower units, the drill hole intercepted a xenolith of country rock that separates the pegmatite.

While the results of the drilling remain subject to a resource modelling and validation process, Viljoen has said that the company “is encouraged by the initial results”.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
MRI (buying station).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
AfriTin Mining, tel +27 11 268 6555.