REG - Andrada Mining Ltd - Publication of the Inaugural Sustainability Report

Andrada MiningAnnouncement

26/01/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 8998N  Andrada Mining Limited  26 January 2023

26 January 2023

 
                                 Andrada Mining Limited

(Previously AfriTin Mining Limited)

 

("Andrada" or the "Company")

 

Publication of the Inaugural Sustainability Report

 

Andrada Mining Limited (previously AfriTin Mining Limited) (AIM: ATM), an
African technology metals mining company with a portfolio of mining and
exploration assets in Namibia, is pleased to announce the publication of its
inaugural Sustainability Report.

The report details the Company's sustainability performance for the 2022
financial year (1 March 2021 - 28 February 2022) and details how the Company
aims to comply with the requirements of the Sustainability Accounting
Standards Board ("SASB") and the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. The
Company has created a dedicated environment, social and governance ("ESG")
department and looks to integrate ESG into Andrada's operating model. This
report provides a baseline for future ESG benchmarking, which will help the
Company to track performance and ensure transparent reporting to all
stakeholders.

Link to Sustainability Report:
https://andradamining.com/company-reports/Sustainability-Report-2022.pdf
(https://andradamining.com/company-reports/Sustainability-Report-2022.pdf)

HIGHLIGHTS

In the period 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022:

§ Combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gases ("GHG") emissions from the
Uis Mine ("the Mine" or "Uis") activities were less than 8.2% of the Equator
Principles Annual Threshold at 8 208 tonnes of CO(2)e produced, or 0.018
tonnes of CO(2)e per tonnes of ore processed;

§ The Mine abstracted water from non-potable groundwater (permitted borehole
network) and surface water through a historical mining pit at a water-use
intensity of 0.33 m(3) per tonne of ore processed;

§ 315 total employees at the Uis Mine, of which 128 were permanent staff and
187 were contractors, all of whom were Namibian citizens;

§ 75% of senior managers at Uis were women;

§ N$143 million (£6.8 million), or 49%, of expenditure at Uis was spent
across more than 250 Namibian suppliers; and

§ 86% of employees and 36% of all contractors attended Health, Safety and
Emergency Response Training.

Commenting on the report, CEO Anthony Viljoen (CEO) said:

"We are pleased to release our maiden Sustainability Report that describes our
approach to sustainability, the policies that guide our ESG implementation
process and our performance for the financial year ended 28 February 2022. We
recognise that the integration of ESG principles into our Company's business
model is an important step in the Company's evolution into a significant
tech-metals producer. Furthermore, our ambition is to lead by example and our
Board is therefore ultimately responsible for our sustainability efforts
across the Company. The Board is supported in this by the ESG Committee which
was formed in August 2021. Andrada has shown ESG improvements over this past
financial year, as is showcased within the report, and the team is committed
to continual improvement in performance."

REPORT OVERVIEW

Andrada has structured the report around four key priorities, namely
environmental stewardship, employees, communities, as well as health and
safety. The report details the Company's sustainability performance for the
2022 financial year (1 March 2021 - 28 February 2022).

Environmental stewardship

Andrada is committed to investigating and investing in renewable, lower-carbon
energy solutions, and energy efficient initiatives to reduce GHG emissions in
the future. An important way to track the Company's impacts on climate change
is by monitoring the GHG emissions and energy use.

Andrada's total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in the reporting period were
8 208 tCO(2)e compared to the 100 000 tCO(2)e Equator Principles Annual
Threshold ("Equator Threshold"). The Company's annual emissions were therefore
8.2% of the Equator Threshold or 91.8% lower than the Equator Threshold. By
effectively managing energy use, Andrada can reduce its GHG emissions, achieve
higher production efficiency, and potentially lower direct mining costs.
Furthermore, the Company has undertaken a climate change risk assessment for
operations at Uis to identify how climate change may affect operations and how
operation may affect climate change. Details of this assessment will be
outlined in the 2023 Sustainability Report.

A critical focus for Andrada is sustainable water management, particularly in
the arid environment in which Uis is located. The Uis Mine abstracted
non-potable groundwater from a permitted borehole network and surface water
through a historical mining pit at a water-use intensity of 0.33 m(3) per
tonne of ore processed during the reporting period.

Employees

The diversity and talent of the employees are critical factors to the success
of the business. The Company strives to develop and retain a distinctively
diverse and talented workforce, whilst fostering a supportive and
understanding organisation by creating an environment where individuals
realise their potential. The Uis Mine employed 128 permanent employees and 187
additional staff through contracting companies during the reporting period. At
Uis, 31% of the employees were women, three of whom held senior management
positions by the end of the financial year.

The rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining are integrated
into Andrada's Human Rights policy. Therefore, the Company has fostered open
communication with the employees and representative unions resulting in no
strike action or lockouts at Uis in the year under review. Andrada is
committed to continually addressing employee concerns transparently and
productively.

Communities

Local communities are critical sustainability partners and Andrada aims to
source members of its talented workforce from these local communities. Andrada
is also mindful of its obligations to these communities, and the wider
stakeholder base, in maintaining its social licence to operate. Ensuring the
communities and countries in which the Company operates share in the value
created is a core value of Andrada.

One of the key areas identified for support and investment in these
communities is education. Quality education can be considered a social and
economic elevator. To help drive educational outcomes in Uis the Company is
involved in several community development and investment projects such as
supporting students from local schools with meals, housing, stationery, and
sports supplies.

 

 

To the extent practicable, the supply chain prioritises procurement from
Namibian local and national businesses before looking to the rest of Africa or
internationally. The total expenditure in the reporting period was
approximately N$294m (£14 million) of which N$143m (£6.8 million), or 49%,
was spent across more than 250 Namibian businesses. As the business grows and
develops, Andrada fully intends on bringing its Namibian suppliers along.

Health and Safety

Andrada is committed to protecting the health and safety of all its people
including employees, contractors, communities, and visitors by building a
robust health and safety culture. This is grounded in individual and shared
responsibility for health and safety, where managers and site leaders lead by
example. Safety is imperative and to that effect Andrada aims to ensure that
risk practices are adopted on all our mining, processing, and exploration
sites.

To improve health and safety performance at Uis, the Company has implemented a
health and safety monitoring system that is accessible to all employees and
contractors across each area of the mine. The system enables real-time
reporting across the operation which enables better responses to and
understanding of incidents. This proactive approach is used to prevent future
repeat incidents from occurring.

During the reporting year, the Uis Mine recorded zero fatalities, four lost
time injuries ("LTIs") resulting in a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate
("LTIFR") of 6.26 per million-man hours worked, and a Total Recordable Injury
Frequency Rate ("TRIFR") of 12.53 per million hours worked. The Company's
health and safety performance needs to improve further, and management is
investigating ways to improve the health and safety culture and performance,
details of which will be outlined in the 2023 Sustainability Report.

FUTURE PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING

Throughout the 2023 financial year, the ESG team has worked to develop an
improved ESG strategy and a five-year strategic roadmap for achievement. Key
performance indicators for the short-term and long-term periods will be
communicated in the next Sustainability Report. Future work includes a water
stewardship programme, a biodiversity strategy, and the climate change risk
assessment to support the ESG strategy. The Company has embedded a
fully-fledged ESG department at the core of its operating model. Andrada
intends to continually enhance reporting and implementation by improving the
disclosure on ESG risks and adopting measures to mitigate against the impacts
of climate change respectively. Furthermore, Scope 3 emissions are being
identified and assessed for future disclosure.

The next comprehensive Sustainability Report will be for the 12 months ending
28 February 2023 (anticipated to be published during Q3 of 2023).

 
Glossary of abbreviations
 CO₂e      Carbon dioxide equivalent
 ESG       Environmental, Social, and Governance
 GRI       Global Reporting Initiative
 m(-)-(3)  Cubic metre
 £         British pound
 N$        Namibian dollar
 SASB      Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
 Scope 1   Refers to all direct GHG emissions (i.e., through the combustion of fossil
           fuel)
 Scope 2   Refers to indirect GHG emissions from the consumption of purchased
           electricity, heat, or steam

 

For further information please visit the Company's website:
www.afritinmining.com (http://www.afritinmining.com) or contact:

 

 Andrada Mining Limited                       +27 (11) 268 6555
 Anthony Viljoen, CEO

 Sakhile Ndlovu, Head of Investor Relations
 Nominated Adviser                            +44 (0) 207 220 1666
 WH Ireland Limited

 Katy Mitchell
 Corporate Advisor and Joint Broker
 H&P Advisory Limited                         +44 (0) 20 7907 8500

 Andrew Chubb

 Jay Ashfield

 Nilesh Patel
 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited               +44 (0) 20 7710 7600

 Ashton Clanfield

 Callum Stewart

 Varun Talwar
 Tavistock Financial PR (United Kingdom)      +44 (0) 207 920 3150
 Emily Moss

 Catherine Drummond

 Adam Baynes

 

 

 

Notes to Editors

Andrada Mining Limited, formerly Afritin Mining Limited, is a London-listed
technology metals mining company with a vision to create a portfolio of
globally significant, conflict-free, production and exploration assets. The
Company's flagship asset is the Uis Mine in Namibia, formerly the world's
largest hard-rock open cast tin mine.

 

Lithium laboratory test work completed during the 2022 calendar year indicated
a high-grade, ultra-low iron lithium petalite concentrate. The test work to
convert lithium petalite concentrate to battery-grade lithium hydroxide was
initiated with Nagrom, a leading Australian processing company, and commercial
engagements with lithium petalite concentrate off - takers are on-going.

 

An exploration drilling programme is currently underway with the aim of
expanding the tin resource over the fourteen additional, historically mined
pegmatites, all of which occur within a 5 km radius of the current processing
plant. The Company has set a mineral resource target of 200 Mt to be
delineated within the next 5 years. The substantial mineral resource potential
allows the Company to consider economies of scale.

 

Andrada is managed by a board of directors with extensive industry knowledge
and management team with deep commercial and technical skills. Furthermore,
the Company is committed to the sustainable development of its operations and
the growth of its business. This is demonstrated by how the leadership team
places significant emphasis on creating value for the wider community,
investors, and other key stakeholders. Andrada has established an
environmental, social and governance system which has been implemented at all
levels of the Company and aligns with international standards.

-END-

 

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