Modern Mining June 2019

MINING News

Commissioning of the processing plant at Uis has commenced (photo: AfriTin).

Commissioning of Uis processing plant underway

AIM-listed AfriTin Mining, whose flagship asset is the Uis tin mine in Namibia, has issued an operational update relating to its mining and processing facility at Uis as part of the Phase 1 Pilot Plant project. Commissioning of the processing plant has now commenced and is being con- ducted in a phased manner, starting with the testing of mechanical installations and progressing to continuous ore beneficia- tion. The plant consists of two main parts: a 4-stage crushing circuit and a 3-stage concentrating circuit. During the commissioning, the plant will produce initial tin concentrate; how- ever, hot commissioning and continuous plant operations will likely commence in July 2019. This represents a slight deviation from previous guidance by the company stating that commercial tin concentrate

production would begin in Q2 2019. This is due to longer than expected lead times in the procurement of equipment, material and construction services. Commissioning will be followed by a production ramp up spanning four months with the goal of achieving design capacity before the end of Q4-2019. Mi n i ng cont rac to r s have been mobilised and have commenced with continuous mining operations at the Uis mine. Initially, outcropping pegmatites of the V1 and V2 ore bodies will be targeted, utilising an opencast mining method and production will be ramped up accord- ing to the schedule of the processing plant. AfriTin is conducting overburden stripping at a ratio of 1,5 tonnes of over- burden to one tonne of ore so as to ensure the sustainable exposure of ore over the tion. The Independent Transport Study was undertaken by Alistair Group. “Not only does the result of the 5 Mt/a (Case 2) study confirm the excellent quality of the Manono project, it further under- lines the expandability of the project,” says AVZ Minerals’ Managing Director, Nigel Ferguson. “Management will now turn its attention to selecting the optimal through- put level in conjunction with consultants working on the DFS.” 

life of the Phase 1 operation. AfriTin says it is in the process of recruit- ing operational personnel. Approximately one-third of the total planned comple- ment of 90 people has been appointed, including the entire management team. General infrastructure to the operation is now in place, including water supply from groundwater sources and electrical power supply from diesel generating sets. The company has concluded an agreement with the Namibian Power Corporation for the provision of grid electrical power and construction of the infrastructure required for the grid power connection has started. At Uis, formerly the world’s largest hard- rock tin mine, management are employing a two-fold strategy: the Phase 1 Pilot Plant is designed to process approximately 500 000 tonnes per annum producing approximately 60 tonnes of tin concentrate per month while Phase 2 will comprise the planned operation of a 3 Mt/a processing facility, producing approximately 5 000 tonnes per annum of tin concentrate. Commenting on the developments, AfriTin's Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Viljoen, stated: “We have been looking forward to this exciting phase of the proj- ect since breaking first ground at the end of 2018. While there is work to be done to achieve steady-state production, the significant step of commencing produc- tion and first concentrate is a momentous milestone for the company.” 

Another step forward for lithium/tin project AVZ Minerals, listed on the ASX, has announced the extended results of the Scoping Study for 5 Mt/a of capacity at the Manono lithium and tin project in the DRC. The Independent Study was undertaken by CPC Project Design (CPC). In addition, an independent economic model and financial analysis was undertaken and completed by Alan Dickson & Associates (ADA). Both doc- uments utilised measured, indicated and inferred resources as the basis for comple-

8  MODERN MINING  June 2019