Following on from its recent announcement of drilling results working towards confirming historical information, AfriTin has raised further capital to bring the Uis Tin Mine to first stage production.

The historical SRK data suggested a small tantalum resource, averaging around 150 ppm Ta, in addition to the primary tin mineralisation. While the diamond drilling campaign appears to confirm this, AfriTin has planning to redesign its concentrate processing flow to produce a saleable tantalum concentrate since February. This redesign will also help to increase throughput, according to AfriTin CEO, Anthony Viljoen.

To do so, the company has raised £3m through a private share placement, with an additional £1.7m working capital facility from its shareholder (and previous parent company) Bushveld Minerals . Anthony Viljoen said “the funds will be used for general corporate purposes and to bring the pilot plant at AfriTin’s Uis tin mine in Namibia to first stage production”.

Our view: Modifications to the processing flow to produce a tantalum concentrate in addition to the primary tin product will help to reduce the cash cost per tonne of tin, making the project more attractive to investors. AfriTin CEO Anthony Viljoen is confident of having production begin in the second quarter of this year, despite already being halfway through the quarter. The company believes the processing plant is around 90% complete.

The original announcement can be viewed here.