Anthony Viljoen
CEO: Andrada Mining
‘The plant positions Andrada to capture the benefits of a strengthening tin market’
ANTHONY Viljoen’s Andrada Mining is ramping up production at its Uis mine in Namibia after a period of capacity building. But it’s been a struggle at times. The miner successfully commissioned a jig plant at Uis to increase ore throughout, mainly through third-party supply. But a dispute over rights to permits has prevented its partner, Goantagab Mining, which was to supply high-grade ore to the jig plant on a profit-share basis, from fulfilling this agreement. As the squabble over claims is a court matter, ore to the jig plant will now be supplied from Uis instead.
In addition to scaling up ore supply, Andrada has also targeted co-products, deciding to install a sorter plant so it can extract tantalum which exists along with tin in Uis’s geology. Commissioning of this project has been delayed to later this year, however, owing to a rethink on capital allocation. Such is the life of a mining junior. Nonetheless, Andrada is in a good position as tin prices have been heading steadily north. This may explain why the stock gained around 50% last year even though it continues to make losses.
For 2025, Andrada booked a £900,000 loss, but less than 2024’s £1.5m loss. Fully funded work has started on Lithium Ridge, a prospect also in Namibia that Andrada is exploring in a joint venture with Chile’s SQM. Then there’s Brandberg West, a project some 110km from Uis that contains tungsten and copper. In January, Andrada secured a ‘farm-in’ style equity investment of up to $51m with US investor ACAM for the project.
LIFE OF ANTHONY
Viljoen is a mining entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in Africa. He is a former CEO and founding director of Australian-listed Lemur Resources and successfully co-founded Bushveld Minerals. Viljoen was also a founding member of VM Investment Company. Rocks are in his blood. He hails from a well-known family of geologists: his late father was Prof Richard Viljoen and his late uncle was Prof Morris Viljoen. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and agricultural economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and a postgraduate diploma in finance banking and investment management.
