AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African tech-metals mining company with its flagship asset, the Uis Tin Mine (“Uis”) in Namibia, is pleased to announce that it has commenced exploration programmes designed to expand the size of the current JORC-compliant resource at Uis Mine beyond the current V1 and V2 pegmatites and to evaluate several highly prospective exploration targets.

Highlights:

• Commencement of a drilling programme to potentially increase the current lithium and tantalum inferred resource and confidence level for potentially significant by-product elements;
• Expansion of the initial confirmatory drilling programme to potentially expand the historical resource and reserve estimates at Uis;
• Confirmatory sampling and drilling programmes at the historic Brandberg West tin and tungsten mine;
• High resolution mapping and geochemical characterisation of lithium bearing pegmatites at historic Nai-Nais mine and licence area; and
• Geological modelling of historical information for the B1 and C1 pegmatites on ML129, close to Uis

Link to Figures: https://bit.ly/3jzFWEk

Anthony Viljoen CEO commented:

“AfriTin has displayed its ability to bring mineral deposits into production by declaring an ore reserve and bringing the Phase 1 pilot plant into production at the Uis mine site. This ore reserve, however, represents a small portion of the historically drilled area in the mining licence property and we believe that the extended Uis project area can expand the size of the operation as well as the Company’s footprint within the region. The exploration programme has been designed to validate the historical reserves and upgrade them to meet modern JORC requirements whilst at the same time it will look to increase the confidence levels of the exciting lithium and tantalum by-product potential. The Company’s other licence areas across the region encompass other historical mining areas and the potential for these to deliver sustained long-term value by reopening a global significant tech metals province for AfriTin, remains a high priority.”

AfriTin is commencing a detailed exploration and development programme for its existing and new licence areas, which currently span 62,949 Ha (Figure 1). The exploration programme has been split into various phases that will be initiated in the coming weeks and run over a period of approximately three years, with a focus on the high priority targets. AfriTin has identified cassiterite mineralisation contained in over 180 pegmatites within 5km of the processing plant at Uis. The programme has been designed to optimise the near-term value of the current mining operations, as well as assess the additional licence areas for the resumption of commercial operations at the various licence areas. The programme has been split into five areas that are prioritized as follows:-

Priority 1

This programme has already commenced, with the objective being to expand the confidence level of the existing lithium and tantalum resources within the V1/V2 orebody (Figure 2). The programme is expected to run for a period of 12 months from the completion of mobilisation and is expected to comprise approximately 8,000 metres of drilling. The intention is to improve the classification of the inferred lithium and tantalum resources to indicated and measured JORC-compliant categories, in order to increase confidence in mineral concentration and production estimation modelling, that will eventually lead to their incorporation into an overall mineral reserve estimate.

Priority 2

This programme aims to expand the historical resource over the Uis licence through a confirmatory drilling programme over other pegmatite outcrops with existing drill holes. The Company previously validated 141 historical holes by drilling 26 confirmatory drill holes spaced throughout the orebody. More than 600 additional drill holes remain over the Uis mining area. The validation of these remaining historical holes will require approximately 19,000 meters of drilling, to be undertaken over a period of 24 months.

Priority 3

The historic Brandberg West Mine provides a compelling opportunity to expand the Company’s tin and tungsten exploration and production footprint within the Erongo metallogenic province. The objectives of this programme are to verify and confirm the historical information declared when the previous owners, Gold Fields, mined the deposit, achieving peak production in 1978 when they produced 1,249 tonnes of tin and tungsten concentrate. To achieve these objectives, the Company will initially undertake a mapping and sampling programme to identify mineralisation extensions within and along strike of the historical Brandberg West mine. The results will be combined with existing datasets to delineate a drill programme to evaluate the continuity of mineralisation along strike and at depth. The programme will initially comprise approximately 3,000 metres of drilling and is expected to be finalised within 10 months of commencement. Multiple additional prospective tin and tungsten targets within the license area (EPL 5445) have been identified for investigation while the drill programme is underway.

Priority 4

This programme focuses on the further evaluation of the Nai-Nais mining license (ML133) which incorporates the historical Tin Tan Mine that produced tin until the late 1980’s. Sampling by AfriTin in 2017 yielded the highest lithium grades (up to 3.9% Li2O) yet assayed in the district (see the Company’s Admission Document). This programme aims to identify the areas of greatest mineral potential for tin, tantalum and lithium by undertaking high resolution geological mapping and geochemical characterisation programmes within the license. This programme will require eight months for the field work to be executed and geochemical analysis finalised, with a view to implementation of a drilling programme and ultimately the production of a maiden resource.

Priority 5

This programme involves the investigation of historical information on license ML129 which contains the B1 and C1 pegmatites, these have previously been reported to contain significant tantalum grades as well as secondary tin mineralisation (see the Company’s Admission Document). An orebody modelling initiative will be undertaken to incorporate historical drill datasets over the B1 and C1 pegmatites – the resulting model will be evaluated for economic potential and inform future work programmes in the license area. Data acquisition, orebody modelling and evaluation is expected to yield results within four months of commencement.

The exploration priorities detailed above will provide a deeper understanding of the mineral potential within the licence areas held by AfriTin in Namibia. The advancement of these programmes will contribute to expanding the Company’s metal inventory, diversifying production and consolidating its tech metal exposure.

In the interview below, Anthony Viljoen provides an overview of the business and gives a snapshot of the tin market