Maritz Smith

ALPHAMIN Resources may be registered in the splendour of idyllic Mauritius, but it operates in a far rougher tropical neighbourhood: DRC’s North Kivu province. Give Smith his due for running and expanding a mine that currently produces 4% of the world’s tin supply in such a volatile region. Take for instance a company announcement in late December that said heavy rains had made already dilapidated roads to its Bisie mine impassable resulting in lower than guided full-year production. But high tin grades certainly help its cause.

The Mpama North section of the mine boasts a world-topping tin grade of 4.5% – about four times that of most of its global peers. A focus of Smith and Alphamin currently is to develop the Mpama South deposit, which lies about a kilometre from the centre of Mpama North and will boost combined annual tin production to 20,000 tons from 12,000 tons. The company said in an operational update in October 2023 that the project was “forecast to be substantially completed within the budget of $116m”. Given the arduous logistics of operating in eastern DRC at a time of rising costs for mining companies globally, this would be some achievement.

In its update, Alphamin said 2,448m of underground development at Mpama South had been completed, with 988m achieved in the third quarter, a 64% quarter-on-quarter improvement. The timely arrival of additional underground equipment boosted the pace. Tin may be associated in the public mind with cans, but it is primarily used for soldering circuit boards. Alphamin believes tin will also be vital for electric vehicles, advanced robotics, and renewable energies.