Andrada Mining Limited has reported a 5.4% year-on-year increase in annual tin ore processing, reaching 965,058 tonnes in FY2025, the company’s latest operational update shows.
According to Andrada’s CEO Anthony Viljoen, the company also processed 244,314 tonnes in Q4 FY2025, marking a 2.6% quarterly rise. This growth was driven by a higher throughput rate, with the plant processing rate increasing to 141 tonnes per hour (tph), up from 130tph in Q3 FY2025 and 137tph in Q4 FY2024.
“We continue to demonstrate steady and sustainable growth across our tin operations, achieving higher tin concentrate tonnage and increased shipments this Quarter. Our ongoing Continuous Improvement programme continues to yield positive results, with processing rates reaching 141tph—the highest level of the past five quarters,” he said
In addition to increased tin production, Andrada has made significant strides in tantalum production. Year-on-year, the company’s tantalum concentrate production more than doubled, reaching approximately 51 tonnes for FY2025 and 10 tonnes for Q4 FY2025.
Similarly, contained tantalum production increased to 5.4 tonnes for FY2025 and 1.1 tonnes for Q4 FY2025, driven by a ramp-up in production. While Q4 FY2025 concentrate tonnage decreased compared to Q3 FY2025 due to temporary plant outages, the issue was successfully resolved within the quarter.
Notably, the annual tantalum recovery rate improved dramatically to 4.5% (up from 0.6% in FY2024), benefiting from the reprocessing of previously produced concentrate.
“Following the conclusion of its 12 – month supply agreement with Afrimet, the Company is supplying concentrate to multiple customers while assessing additional potential long-term off-takers. This diversified sales approach enables the Company to optimise the pricing of concentrate sales across a broader range of specifications,” he said
The company benefited from higher tin prices, with the realized price per tonne surging 21.4% to N$564,779 (US$31,081) in FY2025. This price growth, coupled with the production increases, bolstered Andrada’s financial standing, with an unaudited cash balance of N$66 million (US$3.6 million) as of 28 February 2025, excluding a post-period N$27 million (US$1.5 million) payment from SQM Australia for a lithium development partnership.
Andrada’s plant utilisation also saw an annual increase, rising to 89% from 84% in FY2024, driven by enhanced operational efficiencies and workforce training. Additionally, shipments increased by 11.3% to 59 for the year, contributing to the company’s growing presence in the global tin market.
This comes as Andrada secured N$45 million (US$2.5 million) to procure a 100 tonnes per hour jig plant, enabling modular expansion of tin production from nearby pegmatites as part of its expansion plans. The plant’s construction was 12% complete by the end of February 2025.
“Finally, I am pleased to note that following receipt of the Namibian Competition Commission approval, we are making solid progress with SQM in forming a Board and Joint Development Committee for the Lithium Ridge project. Both teams are focused on ensuring efficient progress. The advancement of this lithium project is a key component of our long-term strategy to become a producer of multiple critical minerals. It is highly encouraging to witness the synergies that this partnership is bringing at such an early stage. We look forward to providing updates in due course,” he said.
