TIDMATM
RNS Number : 5206M
AfriTin Mining Ltd
24 May 2022
24 May 2022
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR) as in force in
the United Kingdom pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory
Information Service (RIS), this inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain.
AfriTin Mining Limited
("AfriTin" or the "Company")
Lithium By-Product Test Work Produces High-Purity
Concentrate
AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African technology metals
mining company with a portfolio of mining and exploration assets in
Namibia, is pleased to announce metallurgical test work results
showing the successful production of a petalite lithium
concentrate, indicating the potential for a lithium by-product at
the Company's flagship polymetallic asset, the Uis Mine
("Uis").
Link to full pdf version with images:
https://afritinmining.com/lithium-by-product-test-work-produces-high-purity-concentrate/
Highlights:
-- A high-purity (up to 94%) petalite lithium concentrate was
produced from bulk ore samples by independent test facilities;
-- Confirms high-grade, ultra-low iron petalite at 4.34% Li(2) O
and contaminants levels of 0.03% Fe(2) O(3) and 0.93% alkalis (Na
(2) O + K (2) O);
-- The Company expects the concentrate to meet demand from
premium glass and ceramics manufacturers, and be suitable feedstock
for battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide
converters;
-- A large bulk sample (11 tonnes) was collected to produce
petalite lithium concentrate samples for distribution to potential
offtakers; and
-- EPCM contractor appointed for the design and construction of
a lithium pilot processing plant at the Uis Mine.
Anthony Viljoen (CEO) commented:
"We are pleased to announce the results from the first phase of
lithium test work for the Uis Mine, showing the potential for
producing a high-quality petalite lithium concentrate from our
lithium mineral resource.
The lithium resource is contained within the currently mined ore
body, and the lithium concentrate will be a by-product to our
existing tin concentrate. These positive test results allow us to
progress to the design and construction of a lithium pilot plant at
Uis.
Petalite concentrate has historically been sold into the
technical market, as feedstock in glass and ceramics industry.
Given the increasing global demand for lithium supply and the
quality of our lithium, we are also receiving in-bound enquiries
from the lithium conversion industry who can develop petalite into
battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide. Techno-economic
modelling of an expanded operation (see announcement of Uis Phase 2
PEA on 26 April 2022) has highlighted the substantial revenue
potential of lithium for the Uis Mine."
Metallurgical Test Work
The Company has completed the initial phase of lithium
by-product metallurgical test work, which produced high-purity (up
to 94%) petalite lithium concentrate, averaging 4.34 % Li(2) O, and
presenting low contaminant levels of 0.03% Fe(2) O(3) , 0.54% Na(2)
O and 0.39% K(2) O. These qualities are typical of petalite
concentrates used as lithium feedstock in the premium glass and
ceramics industry which requires a high lithia to iron ratio. The
Company also expects the concentrate to be suitable for conversion
to battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide. Petalite can be
converted to beta-spodumene through roasting, rendering it suitable
for lithium processing methods employed by spodumene converters.
Several potential offtakers in the lithium conversion industry have
expressed interest in the Company's expected lithium
by-product.
The metallurgical test work was independently conducted at test
service providers LightDeepEarth (South Africa), PESCO (South
Africa) and Geolabs Global (South Africa). Bulk ore samples were
collected from the active mining area and the discard stream of the
current processing plant at Uis. These samples were processed via
Dense Medium Separation ("DMS") methods on a laboratory and pilot
scale and achieved a 4 to 5 times Li(2) O upgrade. The concentrates
from the DMS process were subjected to a milling and flotation to
produce a final lithium petalite concentrate.
The next phase of lithium test work will optimise flotation
operating parameters and will involve the existing and two
additional test work service providers, Nagrom (Australia) and
ANZAPLAN (Germany). A large bulk sample of 11 tonnes has already
been collected for treatment at Nagrom's test facility in Australia
to produce lithium petalite concentrate product samples for
distribution to potential off-takers.
Lithium Pilot Plant
The Company has also appointed Consulmet (South Africa) as EPCM
contractor for designing and constructing a 20 tph pilot plant at
Uis with a target commissioning date in Q4 2022. The pilot plant is
intended as a proof of concept for a full-scale, integrated lithium
beneficiation circuit, which would be added to the existing
processing plant. Petalite lithium concentrate produced from the
pilot plant is intended for initial sales into premium glass and
ceramic markets, and test material for existing and/or prospective
converters of lithium ore concentrates to battery-grade
lithium.
Ore Sorting
The Company is investigating the potential of sensor-based ore
sorting technology to produce a lithium pre-concentrate prior to
concentration with DMS and flotation. Initial test work by Steinert
(Germany) demonstrated a hyperspectral signature for petalite using
a near-infrared ("NIR") and laser sensor. This has the potential of
achieving waste rejection early in the beneficiation process and
increasing the feed grade to the lithium concentrator.
Process Flow Design
The results of the metallurgical test work and lithium pilot
campaigns will inform the process flow design ("PFD") of the
full-scale, integrated lithium beneficiation circuit, which is
targeted for implementation in 2024. Figure 1 summarises the
ultimate PFD for producing separate tin, tantalum and lithium
petalite concentrates.
Competent Person
The technical data in this announcement has been reviewed by
Laurence Robb, a Non-Executive Director of AfriTin. Laurence Robb
(BScHons, MSc, PhD, FGS, FGSSA, FRSSA) has more than 40 years of
industry-related mineral project development experience. He is
registered as a Professional Natural Scientist with The South
African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, and Chartered
Geologist with the Geological Society of London. He was Professor
of Economic Geology and Director of the Economic Geology Research
Institute in the University of the Witwatersrand's School of
Geosciences. He is currently based at Oxford University as a
Visiting Professor. He has reviewed the technical disclosures in
this release and consents to the release of the information
contained herein.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement may contain some references to forecasts,
estimates, assumptions and other forward-looking statements.
Although the Company believes that its expectations, estimates and
forecast outcomes are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give
no assurance that they will be achieved. They may be affected by a
variety of variables and changes in underlying assumptions that are
subject to risk factors associated with the nature of the business,
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed herein. All references to dollars ($) and cents in this
announcement are in United States currency, unless otherwise
stated. Investors should make and rely upon their own enquiries
before deciding to acquire or deal in the Company's securities.
Glossary of abbreviations
DMS Dense medium separation
EPCM Engineering, procurement and construction management
Li Symbol for Lithium
Li -> Li (2) O Metal to metal-oxide conversion factor of 2.153
Li (2) O Lithium oxide
NIR Near-infrared
PEA Preliminary economic assessment
PFD Process flow design
tph Tonnes per hour
Glossary of Technical Terms
Lithium carbonate A carbonate salt of lithium (Li(2) CO(3) ), a feedstock in the manufacturing of lithium compounds
used in lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium hydroxide An alkali (LiOH), used as feedstock in the manufacturing of lithium compounds used in lithium-ion
batteries. Lithium carbonate is often converted to LiOH prior to manufacturing of battery
lithium compounds.
Petalite A lithium aluminium phyllosilicate mineral LiAlSi(4) O(10)
AfriTin Mining Limited +27 (11) 268 6555
Anthony Viljoen, CEO
Nominated Adviser +44 (0) 207 220 1666
WH Ireland Limited
Katy Mitchell
Corporate Advisor and Joint Broker
H&P Advisory Limited
Andrew Chubb
Jay Ashfield
Nilesh Patel +44 (0) 20 7907 8500
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited
Ashton Clanfield
Callum Stewart +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Tavistock Financial PR (United
Kingdom) +44 (0) 207 920 3150
Jos Simson
Oliver Lamb
Nick Elwes
About AfriTin Mining Limited
Notes to Editors
AfriTin Mining Limited is a London-listed technology metals
mining company with a vision to create a portfolio of globally
significant, conflict-free, producing and exploration assets. The
Company's flagship asset is the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia, formerly
the world's largest hard-rock open cast tin mine.
AfriTin is managed by an experienced board of directors and
management team with a current strategy to ramp-up production at
the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia to more than 10,000 tonnes of tin
concentrate and 350,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate in a Phase 2
expansion, having reached Phase 1 commercial production in 2020.
The Company strives to capitalise on the solid supply/demand
fundamentals of tin and lithium by developing a critical mass of
resource inventory, achieving production in the near term and
further scaling production by consolidating assets in Africa.
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