Afritin raises N$88m for Uis mine
By Business Reporter
AIM-listed AfriTin Mining has secured additional financing that will enable it to bring the Phase 1 pilot plant at its flagship Uis tin mine, in Namibia, into production.
The company raised about N$55 million through the issue of 99.61-million ordinary shares.
The company has also entered into a N$30 million, or about £1.7-million, working capital facility with its biggest shareholder, Bushveld Minerals.
“This financing package has been put together to allow us to complete this development and to provide us with general working capital to achieve our goal of first production of tin concentrate,” CEO Anthony Viljoen said in a statement published on Wednesday.
AfriTin previously announced plans to modify the Phase 1 pilot plant circuit to improve returns by expanding production capacity and to also produce tantalum concentrate through the addition of a magnetic separator.
The Phase 1 pilot plant is about 90% complete and AfriTin expects the newly raised funds to enable the plant to reach commercial production during the second quarter of this year.
The directors believe the successful completion and ramp-up of the plant will demonstrate a compelling business case, through a bankable feasibility study, for the Phase 2 development of the plant.
“The plant expansion and modifications announced in February 2019 not only allow for the production of tantalum concentrate, but should also increase the production capacity to the plant. As a result we expect this could increase cash generation during Phase 1.
“I’m pleased to report that the plant is currently 90% complete and that this financing will bring commissioning on time, in Q2 2019.
We remain grateful to our existing shareholders, who have supported this raise and continue to support the Company. We remain committed to our objectives of producing an operational, Phase 1 Pilot Plant and a confirmed JORC compliant resource at Uis to provide a solid platform for Phase 2 feasibility and delivery,” also stated Viljoen.
The Uis Tin Project consists of three project areas in the Erongo region of Namibia, all with historical production. The subject of the project is a pegmatite hosted tin deposit, one of the largest open castable deposits of its kind.
Uis was discovered in 1911 and was developed by Iscor of South Africa as the largest hard-rock tin mine in the world. Production started in the 1950s and ended in 1990 as a result of depressed tin prices.
The project areas are fully permittedes and offer near-term production with low stripping ratios.
Uis has a non-JORC compliant resource of 73 million tonnes at 0.136% Sn with an additional 2.7 million tonnes at 0.015% Ta2O5.