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
London Aim-listed tin mining company 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 Phase 2 is 5 000 t/y of tin concentrate.

Phase 1 of the pilot plant is designed to deliver early positive cash flows while demonstrating the feasibility of a much larger second-phase mine development on Uis’ multicommodity deposit.

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 is continuing with the production ramp-up of its pilot mining and processing facility at its Uis mine, and produced 39 t of tin concentrate containing 27.5 t of tin metal in September.

For Stage 1 of Phase 1, the company is targeting the processing of 45 000 t a month of ore for the production of 60 t of tin concentrate containing 36 t of tin metal.

The current production level represents about 75% of the Stage 1 target on the basis of tin contained in concentrate. Tin concentrate production for the year to date totals 189 t.

Upon achieving steady-state production of the Phase 1 pilot plant, AfriTin intends to enhance the profitability of the plant by increasing the production capacity of the Phase 1 processing plant beyond the current Stage 1 in three further stages.

The company noted on October 26 that it was progressing study work towards the Stage 2 expansion of the current processing facility.

The production of a tantalum concentrate as a by-product was originally planned for the Stage 1 operation, but further metallurgical testwork has been commissioned to increase the confidence level pertaining to the optimum liberation of tantalum-bearing minerals and magnetic separation parameters.

Following encouraging results from the initial test phases, a final phase of definitive testwork is under way, the company has said.

"Once we achieve the nameplate capacity planned for the year, it will provide us with a platform for expanding tin production towards Stage 2 and the exciting addition of a tantalum by-product. Coupled with an improving tin market, we are well positioned to progress towards our long-term goal of a large-scale tin processing facility in Namibia,” AfriTin CEO Anthony Viljoen has said.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
MRI (buying station).

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