Anthony Viljoen

DURING the time AfriTin Mining built the first phase of its Uis tin mine in Namibia, CEO Anthony Viljoen witnessed the metal’s price oscillate alarmingly. After trading around $17,000 per ton, tin prices ran hard to more than $40,000/t before returning to about $25,000/t by the time of AfriTin’s interim results presentation in mid-2022. If that’s not enough to scare the lights out of a developing tin producer, there’s little that will. As a result, Viljoen’s AfriTin is wisely weighing up the benefits of a second-phase expansion that will see the Uis mine diversify into lithium and tantalum production. If the project can be financed, lithium would comprise 58% of Uis’s total revenue, with tantalum contributing 5% to the pie.

AfriTin would also become the only operating lithium firm on the UK’s AIM and give it a more meaningful position in battery minerals supply. But it’s a big ‘if’ at this stage. A preliminary economic assessment of Uis found that a phase-two expansion would cost $440m in capital development, dwarfing anything AfriTin has financed to date.

In the shorter term, AfriTin aims to complete a $53.6m funding package through various means - a share placement with investors, a convertible note and royalty stream agreement, as well as development lender debt - which would be used in part to finance a phase-two feasibility study. AfriTin currently produces 1,200 tons annually of tin. Phase-two production would result in 61,000t/year of additional lithium concentrate.

So a quantum leap is being envisaged. Test work on lithium recoveries is due in the first quarter and roll-out for a pilot plant is also underway. Lithium has strong market fundamentals but risk abounds: according to analysts, elevated lithium prices, which largely defied the broader commodity market in 2022, are due for a major correction this year.