JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – African Tantalum (Aftan), in which Aim-listed investment company Kazera Global holds an interest, has started the tendering process for the laying of pipework for the newly approved Orange River water project at its Namibia Tantalise Investment mine.
“In line with our continued focus to improve plant efficiencies, Aftan will use a third-party environmental engineering firm to start the application process to acquire the certificate that is required for the installation of a larger tailings dam,” commented Kazera CEO Larry Johnson.
Additionally, Aftan has bought a tractor-loader-backhoe to optimise loading of the plant, enabling a continuous running process. “The purchase aligns with our aim to cut variable costs through its reduced fuel consumption and multipurpose functionality as a forklift,” he said.
Aftan has, meanwhile, made its fifth shipment of high-purity (more than 40%) tantalum to North America.
It is also in discussions with a second potential customer who has confirmed that Aftan had passed its stringent processing and product audit.
As the mine scales up production and upgrades aspects of the processing facility, Aftan expects to be in a position to supply multiple customers.