AfriTin Mining Ltd produced record annual tin concentrate from its flagship Uis mine.
Production from the mine, formerly the world’s largest hard-rock open cast tin mine, jumped 70% from the previous year to 804 tonnes in the year to February 28, 2022.
Operating costs for the mine fell 11% to US$25,209 a tonne for the year, although costs in the fourth quarter increased 23% quarter on quarter.
The company said it believes that approximately 50% of this quarterly rise could be attributed to macro-economic factors related to increased smelting costs, prices and exchange rate fluctuations.
“Uis has performed strongly with production exceeding nameplate capacity by 12%, an excellent achievement particularly given the backdrop of record tin prices,†said Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Viljoen.
The average price received for its tin jumped 72% to US$38,604 a tonne for the year, with prices in its fourth quarter reaching US$45,050 a tonne.
“The company ended the year in a strong financial position that will allow for the rapid deployment of the various growth initiatives, including expanded exploration, metallurgical test work on by-product extraction, specifically lithium, ore sorting test work and development of regional mining licence areas, that will be rolled out over the course of 2022,” said Viljoen.
The AIM-traded company ended the financial year with cash and cash equivalents of £7.37 million.
An existing Standard Bank working capital facility has been increased by N$40 million (£2 million) to N$75 million to buffer the increased capacity against any unexpected disruptions in global supply chains or shipping delays, it said.
A Phase 1 expansion project is in progress and is estimated to increase tin concentrate production by 67% via the expansion of the existing processing facility.
AfriTin expects the project’s construction to be completed in the third quarter of its financial year, although it noted that construction had been hampered by global supply chain shortages and constraints in local fabrication capacity.-II/The BriefÂ
