Modern Mining March 2020

month-on-month from 4 300 t of ore achieved in November 2019, to 5 800 t in December 2019, and to 11 400 t in January 2020. Viljoen tells Modern Mining that the ramp-up programme continues to progress well since the January production levels and the company remains on course to achieve nameplate capacity by the end of the year as planned. “We expect to continue ramping up plant produc- tion over the next six months to nameplate capacity of 45 000 t of ore to the plant and the production of 60 t of tin concentrate per month,” says Viljoen. Ramp-up initiatives The ramp-up programme is supported by a number of operational commissioning initiatives, including the transition from the current six-day plant roster to a continuous 24/7 operation, which was granted by the government at the beginning of March; and debottlenecking of and enhancements to the processing plant, in particular the fines tailings dewa- tering circuits which require additional capacity due to a higher than expected fines ratio in the Run Of Mine (ROM) feed. Debottlenecking of the processing plant, Viljoen says, focuses on the dewatering of the grits tailings (less than 630 microns), dewatering of the slimes tail- ings (less than 45 microns) and expanding the feed capacity to the spiral plant. “The modifications are progressing well and we expect them to be completed by April 2020,” says Viljoen. “When complete, we expect to more than double the throughput capacity of these circuits.” Other ramp-up initiatives include expansion of the on-site laboratory to facilitate metal accounting and increased plant recovery; and the implementation of computerised maintenance management system to support targeted plant availability.

mineral resource estimate of 95 539 t of contained Sn, we are well placed to advance the project to the goal of establishing an enlarged mining and process- ing facility,” says Viljoen. Throughput ramp-up The Uis Tin Mine project involves the redevelopment of the historic Uis hard rock mine. AfriTin is devel- oping the project in two phases, with phase one involving an estimated capital expenditure of £7‑mil- lion on a processing plant capable of producing 60 t of tin concentrate per month. The phase one processing plant commenced partial operations in August 2019. Following the ini- tial production of tin concentrate, processing plant throughput has increased by an average of 63%

The phase one processing plant commenced partial operations in August 2019.

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