Modern Mining March 2018

TIN

and load and haul methods. “The tonnages we need to move, even for the Phase 2 plant, are not huge and the envisaged strip ratio is very low so essentially we need only a relatively small fleet of excavators and articulated dump trucks,” he states. “Historic mining revealed no problems with pit slopes or groundwater. Initially, we’ll concentrate on exposed ore zones within the old mining footprint.” The initial focus of mining is likely to be the V1 and V2 pegmatites. AfriTin has completed detailed geological mapping of the two pegma- tites and developed a 3D geological model. The model provides an outline of the V1 and V2 orebodies extending to a depth of 150 m and will be utilised to generate a block model from which a provisional mine production plan will be produced. To implement the Uis project, Viljoen is assisted by a small but highly experienced team. Its members include mining engineer Frans van Daalen, who is COO of AfriTin (and a co-founder and current director of well- known mining consultancy VBKom), electrical engineer Michiel Odendaal, with 40 years of experience, exploration geologist Timothy Marais, who has worked on projects across Africa, and metallurgist Jan Rabe (the founder of TrueGround Consulting, a process engineer- ing consultancy). AfriTin is partnered in the Uis project by the Small Miners of Uis (SMU), a mining co- operative established by Namibia’s Ministry of Mines & Energy in the 1990s. The SMU holds 15 % of the project. The ultimate success of the Uis project will depend on the tin price remaining healthy. The metal has a history of price volatility (over the past 20 years it has ranged from as low as US$3 880 in 2001 to as high as nearly US$33 000 per tonne in 2011) but Viljoen is confident that the outlook is very positive. “Tin is a ‘green’ metal that is absolutely cru- cial to modern technologies. Most notably, it has replaced lead in solder alloys and is also an important constituent of lithium-ion bat- teries. As a result, global demand has been steadily increasing year by year. Mine produc- tion has not kept pace and this has resulted in the price moving up sharply over the past couple of years. The global deficit in supply is expected to continue so our project is very well-timed. It will re-establish Namibia as a significant world producer of tin and also provide a platform for AfriTin to achieve its stated goal of becoming the ‘Tin Champion’ of Africa,” he concludes. Report by Arthur Tassell, photos courtesy of AfriTin

“Historic mining revealed no problems with pit slopes or groundwater. Initially, we’ll concentrate on exposed ore zones within the old mining footprint.”

engineering firm specialising in the construc- tion and installation of crushing equipment, to match the equipment to the required speci- fications and prepare it for installation at the mine site. Comments Viljoen: “This equipment rep- resents the entire comminution circuit for the Phase 1 plant. In addition, we’ve purchased two DMS units, which are currently in South Africa and awaiting delivery to site. All these compo- nents – which collectively represent about 60 % of the Phase 1 plant – have been purchased sec- ond-hand at extremely good prices.” He adds that the process route being adopted by AfriTin is based on the flowsheet used by Imcor. “They used a simple gravity process using jigs, spirals and shaking tables. The only real change that we’re making is that we’ve elected to use DMS units rather than jigs. We’re also looking at some form of pre-concentration of the ROM material. At the moment, we pre- sort – quite successfully – by hand but this would not be appropriate for the larger ROM tonnages we ultimately envisage.” Turning to the mining of the ore, Viljoen says AfriTin envisages a straightforward open-pit operation using standard drilling and blasting

March 2018  MODERN MINING  31