UK-based explorer First Tin (LSE: 1SN) has announced a near-tripling of the Gottesberg tin resource in Germany.
The company revised the resource from its previous mineral resource statement of 6.7 Mt at 0.49% Sn for 33,000 tonnes of tin to 37 Mt at 0.25% Sn for 90,900 tonnes of tin.
Cut-off grade was reduced from 0.35% Sn to 0.15% Sn in line with improved geological understanding of the mineralisation and improved economics due to higher tin prices. The increase in the resource base was also due to greater tonnage in the inferred category.
First Tin said this revised resource is more in line with historical estimates from the deposit.
While the company said there was insufficient assay data to quantify the associated elements it has included copper, tungsten, bismuth, arsenic, silver, and gallium in its new exploration target. The target is for 34-41 Mt grading 0.07-0.11% Cu, 0.014-0.020% WO3, 0.008-0.013% Bi, 0.11-0.17% As, 1.4-2.1 ppm Ag, and 8-12 ppm Ga.
This target could see First Tin’s German assets benefitting considerably from diverse by-product revenues.
First Tin CEO Bill Scotting said the results “highlight the additional potential for tin as well as other critical minerals in this historic mining district in the heartland of Europe’s high-tech manufacturing belt, minerals which today are primarily imported from geopolitically sensitive regions”.
Our view: The upgraded resource total at Gottesberg highlights First Tin’s strong credentials as a future tin producer, with the company now holding one of the largest undeveloped tin resource totals in the world.
