Name of the Project
Uis tin project.

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

Client
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 of less than one (overburden-to-ore ratio) 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 (RoM) 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.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
AfriTin Mining has decided to implement two additional components to the Phase 1 pilot plant at its Uis tin mine.

To increase plant throughput capacity and flexibility, a third dense-medium separation section has been procured and a magnetic separation circuit will be installed in the plant.

This will enable the plant to produce tantalum concentrate alongside the primary tin concentrate.

The improvements are expected to result in first concentrate being produced in the second quarter of this year and are to increase the overall revenue-generation capability of the pilot plant.

“These changes will not only improve revenue from Phase 1 but also allow us to further derisk the larger Phase 2 production, which is subject to a bankable feasibility study,” AfriTin CEO Anthony Viljoen has said.

AfriTin has further reported considerable progress in addressing the infrastructure requirements for the Phase 1 pilot plant and the first phase of production.

A geohydrological study, water drilling and test-pumping programme have been completed.

The results of the programme have confirmed the viability of using groundwater sources to supply the pilot plant with the required process water.

Electrical power to the operation will be provided from the existing high-voltage supply line that currently terminates about 1 km from the plant processing site.

The company is concluding a supply agreement with the relevant authorities that will enable the plant to be connected to the power grid.

Backup power, in the form of diesel generating sets, is also being installed on site.

Accordingly, the company has confirmed that, as a consequence of the additional work, its target date for full-scale concentrate production is now the second quarter of this year.

Phase 1 exploration began at the start of November 2018 mainly to validate the existing historic SRK resource over the V1 and V2 pegmatites.

To date, 18 of the required 26 drill holes have been completed, with all finished holes being geotechnically and geologically logged directly onto a new cloud-based geodatabase system.

The core will be assayed and prepared for the declaration of an initial Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource on the project.

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.