Modern Mining November 2021

platform for the future large-scale Phase 2 facility with a planned production capacity of more than eight times the current facility. By implementing the pilot phase development of these separate ele- ments, the company aims to take advantage of the burgeoning technology metals market by fast track- ing the by-product streams into production,” says Viljoen. “We are encouraged by the rapid progress on our metallurgical test work programme in support of our goal of becoming a major player in the tech-metal mining sector,” he adds. The company has embarked on an aggressive strategy to maximise returns by producing by- products and maximising processing throughput. The programmes to develop separate tantalum and lithium concentrate by-products are advancing to the piloting phase. Lithium by-product development Lithium oxide at Uis occurs primarily as the mineral petalite in the ore which is treated by the current processing facility. The occurrence of petalite is consistent throughout the mineral resource. The company aims to produce a premium techni- cal grade petalite concentrate. Although petalite contains comparatively less lithium than the more common spodumene (petalite has a theoretical limit of 4,9% Li 2 O), the low contaminant levels of techni- cal grade petalite makes it suitable for the glass and ceramics market, therefore attracting a premium to the typical chemical grade spodumene concentrate. A technical grade petalite concentrate typically contains a minimum of 4% Li 2 O, a maximum of 0,05% Fe 2 O 3 and alkali metal compounds (Na 2 O + K 2 O) of

less than 1%. The company is also investigating pos- sible offtake routes in the battery materials market. Test work to date focused on processing several samples from the current plant feed and discard streams to produce petalite concentrates. Dense Medium Separation (DMS) test work on labora- tory scale as well as piloting scale has achieved an upgrade in Li 2 O of four times and higher, with several samples producing grades above 4% Li 2 O and con- taminant levels within technical grade specifications. The test work has been expanded to include mill- ing and flotation as a method of further upgrade and maximising recovery of Li 2 O. The company will proceed with the design and procurement for a pilot petalite concentration plant. The process flow design of a petalite concentration circuit is planned as a combination of density separa- tion, flotation and magnetic separation methods. The circuit will be fed with coarse discard material from the first stage of DMS in the current processing plant on a batch basis. The facility will have a processing capacity of 20 tonnes per hour (tph) and is intended as a pilot for an integrated full-scale petalite concen- trate circuit (120 tph). The pilot plant is expected to cost £2,2-million, consisting of CAPEX and operating costs over the course of the pilot campaign. The plant will be funded from existing cash reserves. The company plans to operate the plant for an initial period of 6 months, generating bulk product sales for the pur- pose of establishing a long-term offtake agreement. Results from this pilot will inform a bankable feasibil- ity study for the integrated full-scale circuit. AfriTin is engaging with possible EPCM partners for the implementation of the pilot plant by Q2 of 2022, to

Test work to date focused on processing several samples from the current plant feed.

November 2021  MODERN MINING  19