By:Staff writer
AfriTin Mining says its exploration activities in Namibia have confirmed the presence of significant lithium, tin and tantalum mineralisation.
The exploration programme on its ML133 licence, located about 35 km from the company’s flagship Uis tin mine, started in the fourth quarter of 2021 and conducted over a 12-month period, included aerial surveys, regional and high-resolution geological mapping, and surface chip sampling.
Chip sample results included: 13 metres (m) at 1.93% lithium oxide, 0.10% tin, and 36 parts per million (ppm) tantalum; 24m at 1.65% lithium oxide, 0.15% tin and 52 ppm tantalum; and 20m at 0.97 % lithium oxide, 0.12% tin, and 172 ppm tantalum.
The weighted average of the 20 highest lithium grade sample lines combined provided 200m at 1.25% lithium oxide, AfriTin said.
AfriTin’s 50-hole drilling programme at Uis aims to increase the confidence of the existing lithium and tantalum mineral resource estimates over the deposit. The programme comprises 29 diamond and 21 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes.
A total of 49 holes have already been completed and are being processed. The results of 20 previous holes were announced in June, July and October.
The company’s CEO Anthony Viljoen said this initial exploration confirms the company’s belief that the pegmatites of the ML133 licence could contain significant lithium, tin and tantalum mineralisation.
The company recently announced that it would be changing its name to Andrada Mining to reflect its expanding lithium and tantalum resources alongside its existing tin production in Namibia.
The company’s proposed changed name was inspired by Brazilian mineralogist and professor Jose Bonifacio de Andrada de Silva, who is said to have been the first to discover petalite and spodumene, major lithium-bearing minerals and a precursor to the identification of lithium. The name change signalled the company’s intentions into lithium.
The 3 200 ha programme targeted 100 outcropping pegmatites, many of which were found to contain lithium, tin and tantalum. Sampling consisted of 79 pegmatite chip sample profiles over 64 selected pegmatites.
Samples from the exploration also found 24 m of mineralisation, grading 1.65% lithium oxide, 0.15% tin and 52 ppm of tantalum from sample T72. Sample T36 returned 20 m of mineralisation, grading 0.97 % lithium oxide, 0.12% tin and 172 ppm of tantalum.
Sample T71 returned a 14 m mineralised zone grading 1.33% lithium oxide, 0.17% tin and 118 ppm of tantalum, while sample T24 contained 0.93% lithium oxide, 0.17% tin and 149 ppm of tantalum in a mineralised zone of 11 m.
The weighted average of the 20 highest lithium grade sample lines combined points to 200 m worth of mineralised zone.
The lithium industry has seen significant growth recently.
The lithium battery industry of China, which is said to control about 60% of the world’s capacity for processing raw lithium products into battery-grade chemicals, has seenrapid growth amid sky-high demand from the electric car and renewable energy industries.
This comes as AfriTin plans to raise N$854 million to fully fund its lithium and tantalum production at the Uis mine in Namibia after metallurgical test work results show the successful production of a petalite lithium concentrate, indicating the potential for a lithium byproduct at the Uis Mine.
The concentrate is expected to meet demand from premium glass and ceramics manufacturers and be suitable feedstock for battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide converters, the company stated.
AfriTin Mining is an African technology metals mining company with a portfolio of mining and exploration assets in Namibia.
Additional reporting Mining Weekly, The Brief.
