Aim-listed AfriTin Mining has started Phase 1 of the validation and drilling programme at its flagship asset, the Uis tin mine, in Namibia.

Confirmatory drilling began on October 26, and is expected to continue until the first quarter of 2019. The planned programme is expected to comprise 3 950 m, distributed over 27 holes.

This programme, CEO Anthony Viljoen said last week, was “another important step in the development of the Uis tin project”.

The company had always been focused on upgrading the historical resource identified at Uisto a modern Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource and was a key element of AfriTin’s current mine plan and the bankable feasibility study for Phase 2, he added.

The historical database that was originally created for Uis was extensive and provided a high level of detail for the company, Viljoen pointed out.

“We will now look to use this data to allow for an expedited validation drilling and exploration programme, as well as increase the confidence of mineralisation hosted by the V1 and V2 pegmatites,” he said.

In addition to the tin content, AfriTin would also be investigating the potential for economic concentrations of lithium and tantalum in the Uis pegmatites, as these were not historically quantified, but might be significant once project economics were considered, the company further noted.

In addition to the drilling programme, the company had initiated additional work streams on the other mining licences held in Namibia. Both these mining licence areas, namely ML129 and ML133, had been historically worked and were considered to have potential for tin, lithium and tantalum.

Geological mapping and sampling were currently under way in those areas, with emphasis being placed on historically mined areas.

This, AfriTin said, would allow it to better understand the characteristics and mineralogy of each licence.