Andrada Mining expects to increase processing throughput at its Uis Tin Mine in Namibia by about 60% through the introduction of ore sorting technology.
Speaking on a mining podcast, Chief Executive Officer Anthony Viljoen said the company has transformed Uis from a pilot operation into a commercial producer and is now focused on optimising plant performance through upgrades to the front-end processing circuit.
Viljoen said the introduction of X-ray Transmission (XRT) ore sorting technology will enable the company to separate high-grade mineralised ore from waste before material enters the processing plant, significantly improving feed quality.
“That basically upgrades your feed into the circuit by about two to three times. As I said, that gives you a lot more efficiency. It should increase our throughput by about 60%. Obviously, what that achieves is a dilution of fixed costs, so it makes everything a lot more profitable and a lot more efficient, without requiring a lot of additional infrastructure capacity,” he said.
Viljoen acknowledged that implementing the technology had taken longer than anticipated because parts of the processing plant had to be reconfigured to accommodate new crushing equipment. However, he said the company is now well positioned to benefit from the upgrade.
Beyond tin production, Andrada continues to expand its presence in the critical minerals sector through exploration of lithium, tungsten, copper and tantalum assets in Namibia.
At its Lithium Ridge project, drilling undertaken in partnership with global lithium producer SQM has confirmed extensive lithium mineralisation extending about six kilometres along strike and at depth.
“We entered into a partnership with SQM, the second-largest lithium miner globally. They’ve been conducting an extensive drilling programme at Lithium Ridge under our earn-in arrangement. We’ve drilled something like 16,500 metres to date, and it has basically confirmed everything we wanted it to confirm: high-grade mineralisation, long strike length and continuity at depth,” Viljoen said.
The company is also advancing work at its Brandberg West project, where drilling and metallurgical test work are planned to assess the scale of tin, tungsten and copper mineralisation and evaluate the project’s development potential.
Viljoen said Andrada’s immediate priorities are to increase cash generation at Uis, expand its mineral resource base and progress its portfolio of critical minerals projects.
“We’re hoping to build on that success and see what comes out of Brandberg West, and potentially add another two minerals to our portfolio of critical metals. There’s going to be a lot of news flow. We are at the cusp of a breakout, in my view, from the junior mining space into something more mature,” he said.
