Gippsland Limited announced that it would be stepping up production at its Abu Dabbab alluvial tin project in Egypt from this month and is also working on new financing options for its main Abu Dabbab tantalum/tin/feldspar project.
Following the installation and commissioning of a spiral plant, production of tin-in-concentrate is expected to rise to 50 – 55 tonnes per month from March and eventually reach a peak of 70 – 80 tpm. The plant will treat stockpiled material mined from the Wadi Quaria placer deposit. As mining activity here winds down, activity will shift to a second deposit called Wadi Mubarak.
The planned capacity of the main Abub Dabbab project is some 2,300 tpy of tin metal over a 14 year mine life, with 925,000 pounds of tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) a year in slag. Gippsland reports that it has been approached by several Gulf financial institutions regarding debt financing, and is also in negotiations with two potential investors to secure equity participation in its wholly-owned subsidiary Tantalum International.
