JSE- and TSX-V-listed Alphamin Resources Corporation has announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) and preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Mpama South deposit, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The company says Mpama South has the second-highest grade publicly declared for any tin mineral resource globally, as per the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards, and one of the largest in terms of contained tin.
The MRE finds a resource of 830 000 t grading 2.58% tin for 21 500 t of contained tin in the indicated category, and 1.95-million tonnes grading 2.52% tin for 49 100 t of contained tin in the inferred category.
The MRE includes results from 79 drill holes totalling 23 109 m.
Alphamin says it continues seeing considerable mineralisation beyond the maiden MRE boundary.
The PEA envisions contained tin production of 7 232 t/y, at an all-in sustaining cost of $15 188/t.
The project is expected to generate yearly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $187-million, at an assumed tin price of $40 000/t.
The capital development cost is estimated at $116-million, with a similar mining method, fleet and processing route possible as is currently applied at the company’s adjacent Mpama North mine.
“The PEA quantifies the potentially value accretive economics of expanding production with the development of the adjacent Mpama South mine.
“Our current producing Mpama North mine absorbs large fixed costs, which facilitates incremental production from Mpama South at a competitive marginal cost. Developing Mpama South will bring Alphamin closer to its vision of becoming one of the world’s largest low-cost tin producers,” comments CEO Maritz Smith.