Name of the Project
Uis tin project.

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

Project Owner/s
AfriTin Mining.

Project Description
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 (overburden-to-ore) of less than one 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 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.

Other potentially viable metals include tantalum, niobium, lithium, beryllium and muscovite.

Potential Job Creation
AfriTin is recruiting operational personnel, with about one-third of the total planned complement of 90 people having been appointed, including the management team.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start /End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
AfriTin has partly suspended activity at its Uis mine, following the country’s declaration of a partial lockdown from March 27 to April 16 because of Covid-19.

In Namibia’s legislation, mining operations are categorised as critical economic services and are able to continue minimum operational activity, including critical maintenance work.

The Uis tin mine will, therefore, stop mining from its openpit, but will continue feeding the processing plant from the run-of-mine stockpile during the lockdown.

AfriTin has said it has more than two months’ worth of production on its stockpile.

As part of a debottlenecking exercise of the processing plant announced in February, the company scheduled a plant shutdown to implement the required modifications. These activities will continue under the current restrictions, although the risk of supply chain disruptions may impact on the scope and timing of the plant shutdown. 

Further, AfriTin plans to export its next shipment of tin concentrate from Walvis Bay, in Namibia, in mid-April.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
MRI (buying station).

Contact Details for Project Information
AfriTin Mining, tel +27 11 268 6555.