AfriTin Mining has announced the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of its Phase 2 expansion at its Uis mine. With forecast output of 9,000 tonnes tin-in-concentrate, Uis could become one of the largest tin mines in the world.
The Uis mine, located in Nambia, was historically operated between 1958 and 1991. Since acquiring the project, Afritin has begun to re-establish the mine using a two-phased approach.
Since 2019, AfriTin has operated Uis as a tin project. In this initial Phase of the redevelopment, Uis has produced some 500 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate annually. There are plans to expand the product range to include lithium and tantalum.
The success of tin production in Phase 1 has enabled Afritin to begin working on the second phase of development. Today’s PEA results represent the first step of this expansion.
The Phase 2 expansion sees Uis output rising to some 9,000 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate annually. Along with 1,000 tonnes of tantalum concentrate and 450,000 tonnes of 4% lithium petalite concentrate. Based on tin prices of US$ 40,500/tonne, the Phase 2 mine is forecast to record revenue of US$ 880 million annually and has a Net Present Value (NPV8%) of some US$ 2.1 billion.
With an initial CAPEX of US$ 440 million, Phase 2 is a significant investment. However, AfriTin forecasts a 1.5-year payback period, based on the significant aforementioned revenue. Phase 2 work is scheduled to take place between Q4 2023 – when the Phase 1 Expansion finishes – and 2026, when AfriTin aims to bring the expanded processing plant online. Further drilling is planned to expand the mineral resource, as well as further metallurgical testing to optimize by-product recovery.
Our view: Phase 2 expansion is an exciting step for AfriTin. Planned output of 9,000 tonnes tin-in-concentrate would place Uis amongst the largest mines globally. This additional tonnage will help to reduce the deficit between demand and production of refined tin, although the market is forecast to remain tight.
AfriTin Mining is a member of ITA’s Explorers and Developers Group.
