Anthony Viljoen

THE headline event for Anthony Viljoen’s Andrada Mining in 2024 was a $20m farm-in agreement with Chile’s SQM for its Lithium Ridge project. It could prove catalytic for Andrada, which has toiled long and hard to get this far. Andrada mines tin from its Uis mine in Namibia. However, the mineral deposit is polymetallic in nature. The ambition is, therefore, to diversify production so as to derisk the firm’s market exposure and reduce costs through scale. That’s where Lithium Ridge comes in. SQM’s investment is in three stages, which, if Viljoen’s plan comes together, will see a five to 10 times increase in lithium. 

A pilot plant is expected to produce 40,000 tons of concentrate this year. Meanwhile, plant expansions of the tin circuit will see that metal’s output grow 60% over the next six to 12 months from 885t of contained tin last year. “We have doubled output every three years,” says Viljoen of his firm’s track record. First exports of another metal, tantalum, are also due this year. Shares in the firm lost ground last year, suggesting investors are waiting for the actual numbers of the promised expansions, but such is the life of a junior miner.

 Lithium is a tough place to be at the moment, projected supply deficits notwithstanding. The key is low-cost production. The way Viljoen describes it, Uis will produce its battery mineral “for free” if the scale in tin and tantalum can be produced. Ahead of this strategy, Andrada has refinanced the balance sheet. The company has also flipped up shares held by Namibian investors in its operating company to the top level.