SHARES in tin miner Alphamin increased 4% in Toronto on Wednesday after the company announced impressive second quarter production boosted by expansion.
Contained tin produced of 4,027 tons was a 28% quarter-on-quarter increase following the commissioning of Mpama South. The expansion aims to increase output from Alphamin’s Bisie tin mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo by 65% to a targeted 20,000 tons from this year.
Second quarter sales were about a fifth lower at some 3,245 tons. This was partly owing to “exceptionally high” first quarter sales where catch-up was recorded following poor road conditions that hampered sales in the preceding fourth quarter. The Bisie mine is located in the remote east of the Congo.
The company also reported lower than planned sales in the quarter under review, down by 21% and costing Alphamin $15m in Ebitda. This inventory should clear in the third quarter, the company said. Second quarter Ebitda is estimated at $54.2m (Q1 2024: $52.1m).
Recoveries from Mpama South’s plant were coming in higher than planned. The facility was designed to produce at a metallurgical recovery of 70% on the basis of a 2% tin feed grade, which should result in a combined recovery of about 73% going forward. But the new plant outperformed in the second quarter achieving recoveries in excess of 70% at an average feed grade of 2.2%.
