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 80.75%-owned through Alphamin Resources’ DRC registered subsidiary Alphamin Bisie Mining, or ABM; 5%-owned by the DRC government; and 14.25%-owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa.

Project Description
The Bisie project is considered to be one of the most advanced tin projects in the world.

The 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 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 2017 further confirmed the robust economic metrics and potential of the project, and its 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 project will employ about 700 people during construction and create about 450 permanent local jobs during operations.

Indirect job creation is expected to be far higher than the mine’s direct jobs and can be reasonably expected to achieve the 1:14 ratio of indirect jobs commonly reported in Africa for similar projects, potentially resulting in an additional 6 300 jobs.

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

This compares with a post-tax NPV, at a 13.54% discount rate, of $167.79-million, and an IRR 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
The processing plant front-end crushing circuit at the Bisie tin mine has been successfully commissioned, and on schedule.

This includes the primary crusher, two tertiary crushers and the screening buildings. Ore is now being fed through this circuit to create a stockpile with which the gravity circuit can be commissioned.
 
The process plant in its entirety is scheduled to be commissioned, on track with the original schedule, by the end of March.
 
Alphamin has also reported that the underground mine capital footprint was completed at the end of December, two months ahead of schedule.

The run-of-mine ore production rate is being ramped up to about 1 000 t/d to achieve the targeted steady-state feed rate to the processing plant.
 
"It is envisaged that the processing plant should ramp up to its nameplate production capacity of tin concentrates from April to the end of June 2019," the company has said.

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

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

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