2022 was so good for Afritin to suggest new name - Andrada Mining

The London-listed technology metals mining company Afritin scored some significant points in 2022 from listing on the Namibia Stock Exchange to discovering lithium at its Uis Tin Mine and thinking about changing its name to Andrada Mining Limited after the Brazilian mineralogist and professor Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva, who first discovered petalite and spodumene.

2 March 2022

AfriTin discovered spodumene, a lithium-bearing mineral, within its fully permitted mining license Uis Tin Mine in Erongo Region, Namibia. The company owns mining licence 129.

Afritin chief executive officer Anthony Viljoen said the discovery of spodumene was an exciting development that highlights the significant potential of the licence areas and provided a promising target for AfriTin's operations.

"The Company intends to conduct an exploration drilling programme on this target during 2022 to add to our existing lithium resource at Uis. Lithium from these sources can be of interest to both technical and chemical lithium markets, the latter finding application in lithium-ion batteries," he said.

 9 March 2022

AfriTin Mining listed its ordinary shares on the NSX market of the Namibian Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ATM.

The company said it was listing because the Uis Tin Mine production reached nameplate production, 80 tonnes per hour, in September 2020, producing approximately 720 tons of tin concentrate per annum.

Furthermore, the project incorporated a JORC (2012) compliant resource estimate of almost 71.54 million ore tons, containing 95,000 tons of tin, 6,000 tons of tantalum (Ta) and 450,000 tons of lithium oxide (Li2O). 

The dual listing on the NSX would allow SADC members to participate in this developing opportunity.

29 March 2022 

AfriTin Mining said annual tin concentrate production at Uis Tin Mine for the fourth quarter and 12 months ending 28 February 2022 increased by 70% to 804 tons, while annual ore processed increased by 55% from 543 601 tons.

The annual tin concentrate production was 12% above nameplate capacity, reflecting strong operational performance.

The company ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of £7.372m (unaudited) (2021: £1.351m, audited).

The existing Standard Bank working capital facility increased from N$40m to N$75m.

 The operating costs and All-In Sustaining Costs were US$25,209/ton and US$27,515/ton, respectively (unaudited). 

6 April 2022

AfriTin Mining said it wanted to enlarge its footprint in Namibia by expanding existing operations and adding mining locations in Namibia and across Africa. 

In addition, Afritin said it wanted to develop revenue streams for multiple technology metals concentrates and expand the current tin production to include lithium, tantalum and tungsten. 

Uis mine was producing 850 tons per annum (tpa) of tin concentrate, and the company wanted to expand this to 2 800 tpa, lithium concentrate of 60 000 tpa and tantalum of 45 tpa.

26 April 2022

AfriTin Mining produced its preliminary economic assessment for the Uis Phase 2 expansion, which is expected to produce 15,000 tons of tin concentrate per annum (9,000 tons of contained tin per annum).

The mine is also expected to produce 1,000 tonnes of tantalum concentrate per annum (200 tons of contained Ta2O5 per annum).

In addition, Afritin said the expansion could produce 450,000 tons of 4% lithium petalite concentrate per annum (18,000 tons of contained Li2O, or 45,000 tons of contained LCE per annum).

The company reported an after-tax net present value of N$2,1b and significant annual cash flow with a rapid payback of 1.5 years from an open-pit tin, lithium, and tantalum mine.

The company reported an average production of 10 million tons per annum (Mtpa) and a 14-year lifespan. Capital expenditure was US$440m, including a 30% contingency.

24 May 2022

AfriTin Mining reported that metallurgical test work at Uis mine had produced petalite lithium concentrate, indicating the potential for a lithium by-product.

8 June 2022

AfriTin Mining Limited said the drilling programme at the Uis Mine produced lithium grades to reinforce the belief that Uis hosts one of the largest lithium resources globally. 

16 June 2022 

AfriTin Mining's unaudited quarterly production update for the first quarter ending 31 May 2022 showed that Uis mine tin production increased by 13% quarter-on-quarter to 152 tonnes.

There was also a record tin recovery of 67% and an all-in sustaining costs improvement of 16% quarter-on-quarter on the back of increased production and improved operational efficiencies.

Tin concentrate production for the period under review totalled 239 tons, while tin contained in concentrate increased by 13% quarter-on-quarter to 152 tons. Uis processed 152 kt of ore at an average processing rate of 99 tph. 

5 July 2022

 AfriTin Mining entered into a conditional, credit-approved term sheet for a lending facility with the Development Bank of Namibia Limited to fund the Uis Phase 1 Stage II Continuous Improvement Project. 

The proposed lending facility comprised a N$100 million senior secured lending facility to fund the Uis Phase 1 Project and to increase plant throughput from 840 ktpa to 1Mtpa.

The facility would also improve the processing efficiency to maximise the concentrate recovery rate from 64% to 68% and promote business sustainability by enhancing support infrastructure.

DBN chief executive officer Martin Inkumbi said, "Our main objective as an institution is to contribute to the economic growth, social development and sustainable welfare of Namibia and its people. We look forward to working with AfriTin and UTMC."

20 July 2022

AfriTin Mining said the second batch of results for the lithium and tantalum drilling programme at Uis Mine were consistent with tin, tantalum and lithium mineralisation. 

Afritin CEO Anthony Viljoen said the results confirmed the understanding of the mineralisation at Uis, which continues to show consistent tin, tantalum and lithium mineralisation. 

11 October 2022

AfriTin Mining CEO Anthony Viljoen said the latest results showed that the average tantalum grade was approximately 40% higher than the average of the existing mineral resource estimate (119 ppm vs 85 ppm), and the tin grade is about 30% higher than the average of the resource estimate (0.174% vs 0.134%).

7 November 2022

AfriTin Mining said the commissioning of the Uis Phase 1 Expansion Project was completed, and production projected to ramp up from 780 to 1200 tpa of tin concentrate over the next three months.

The company expected to produce a potential by-product of lithium and tantalum to benefit from the plant throughput expansion due to its co-occurrence within the ore.

The Uis Phase 1 Expansion Project targeted an increase in production from approximately 780 tonnes per annum to 1 200 tpa tin concentrate (470 tpa and 720 tpa tin contained in concentrate). 

17 November 2022

AfriTin Mining's unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2022 showed that production went up by 23% to 454 tons of tin concentrate (286 tonnes of contained tin) compared to 2021: 368 tonnes (227 contained).

The revenue was £4.7m compared to £5.1m in 2021. This was due to the tin price and the impact of the timing of settlement adjustments.

The average tin price achieved before settlement adjustment for the six months was US$25 227/ton compared to US$36 910/ton in 2021.

The cash and cash equivalents was £12.2m as of 15 November 2022, after the US$53.6m proposed funding package announced in September 2022.

5 December 2022

AfriTin Mining announced results from the lithium and tantalum drilling programme at Uis Mine, comprising 29 diamond and 21 reverse circulation, aimed to increase the confidence of the existing lithium and tantalum mineral resource estimates over the deposit. 

6 December 2022

AfriTin Mining provided notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting of AfriTin Mining Limited to be held on 5 January 2023 to change its name to Andrada Mining Limited, reflecting the expanding lithium and tantalum resources alongside its existing tin production. 

The new name originates from Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva, the Brazilian mineralogist and professor who first discovered petalite and spodumene, which are major lithium-bearing minerals and a precursor to the identification of lithium. 

7 December 2022

AfriTin Mining said lithium laboratory test work at Uis mine produced a high-grade, ultra-low iron lithium petalite concentrate at 4.34% Li2O and low contaminants levels of 0.03% Fe2O3 and 0.93% alkalis (Na2O + K2O).

The company initiated the test work to convert lithium petalite concentrate to battery-grade lithium hydroxide with Nagrom, one of Australia's leading mineral processing companies.

The tantalum laboratory test work produced a saleable 24% tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) concentrate.

 Afritin anticipates a larger, pilot-scale lithium metallurgical testing, which will also produce samples for potential offtakers, has commenced, with first results expected in Q1 2023

The first results from laboratory metallurgical test work with Nagrom to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide are expected in Q3 2023;

22 December 2022

AfriTin Mining's unaudited quarterly production update said the Uis Mine produced a record 88 tons of concentrate tin (53 tonnes of tin contained) during November 2022, equal to 88% of the expanded nameplate production capacity of 100 tonnes of concentrate per month.

The report also said the operating unit cost for November 2022 was 14% lower than the average monthly unit cost.

The plant processing rate increased by 17%, ore processed increased by 22%, and tin concentrate production increased by 16%.