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
AfriTin is recruiting operational personnel, with about one-third of the total planned complement of 90 people having been appointed, including the entire management team.
 

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start /End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
AfriTin Mining has confirmed that commissioning of the processing plant for the Uis tin mine has started and is being conducted in a phased manner.

Phase 1 of the pilot plant project will start with the testing of mechanical installations and progress to continuous ore beneficiation.

The plant consists of two main parts – a four-stage crushing circuit and a three-stage concentrating circuit.

The C4 stage of commissioning, which involves passing ore material through the circuit, is scheduled for the end of this month for the crushing circuit and the end of June for the concentrating circuit.

During commissioning, the plant will produce initial tin concentrate. However, hot commissioning and continuous plant operations will likely start only in July. 

This, the miner has said, represents a slight deviation from previous guidance by the company that commercial tin concentrate production will start in the second quarter of the year, owing to the longer-than-expected lead times in the procurement of equipment, material and construction services.

Commissioning will be followed by a production ramp-up spanning four months, with the goal of achieving design capacity before the end of the fourth quarter.

Mining contractors have been mobilised and have started with continuous mining operations at the mine.

Initially, outcropping pegmatites of the V1 and V2 orebodies will be targeted, AfriTin has noted, explaining that it will be using an opencast mining method and production will be ramped up according to the schedule of the processing plant.

The miner is further conducting overburden stripping at a ratio of 1.5 t of overburden to 1 t of ore to ensure the sustainable exposure of ore over the life of the Phase 1 operation.

Moreover, general infrastructure to the operation is now in place, including water supply from groundwater sources and electrical power supply from diesel generating sets.

As per an announcement earlier this month, AfriTin has also concluded an agreement with the Namibian Power Corporation for the provision of grid electrical power. Construction of the infrastructure required for the grid power connection has started.

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.