REG - Andrada Mining Ltd - Q2 operational update for period ended 31 Aug 24

Andrada MiningAnnouncement

26/09/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7769F  Andrada Mining Limited  26 September 2024

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR) as in force in the United Kingdom pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service (RIS), this inside information will be in the public domain.
Andrada Mining Limited

("Andrada" or the "Company")

Operational update for the period ended 31 August 2024

Andrada Mining Limited (AIM: ATM, OTCQB: ATMTF), the African technology metals
mining company with a portfolio of mining and exploration assets in Namibia,
hereby provides an unaudited operational update for the second quarter ("Q2
FY2025" or the "Quarter") and the first six months of the 2025 financial year
("H1 FY2025"), both ended 31 August 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS
Operations

§ Year-on-year ("YoY") increase in ore processed

-     Q2 FY2025 to 243 528 tonnes (Q2 FY2024: 232 154 tonnes).

§ YoY increase in contained tin production

-     Q2 FY2025 to 239 tonnes (Q2 FY2024: 238 tonnes).

§ YoY increase in plant utilisation

-     Q2 FY2025 at 93% (Q2 FY2024: 83%).

§ YoY increase in tin recovery

-     Q2 FY2025 to 75% (Q2 FY2024: 67%).

§ YoY increase in realised tin price

-     Q2 FY2025 to USD31 937 (Q2 FY2024: USD25 183).

§ Approximately 15 tonnes of saleable tantalum concentrate at a grade of
10.8% Ta₂O₅ was shipped to AfriMet during the Quarter.

§ Approximately five tonnes of petalite at a grade of over 4% Li₂O supplied
to a ceramic producer during the Quarter.

Financial

§ Average C1 operating cash cost for Q2 FY2025 (USD19 927) and H1 FY2025
(USD19 400) was within management guidance of between USD17 000 and USD20 000
per tonne of contained tin.

§ Average C2 operating cash cost for Q2 FY2025 (USD24 662) and H1 FY2025
(USD24 043) was within management guidance of between USD20 000 and USD25 000
per tonne of contained tin.

§ All-in sustaining cost ("AISC") for Q2 FY2025 (USD27 931) and H1 FY2025
(USD28 328) was within management guidance of between USD25 000 and USD30 000
per tonne of contained tin.

§ Conclusion of the Bank Windhoek Limited ("BWL") NAD175 million (c £7.5
million) funding agreement.

§ Unaudited available cash balance, including undrawn facility on 31 August
2024, of £8.2 million (USD 10.8 million).

Anthony Viljoen, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We continue to improve operational performance as we optimise processes,
indicated by the higher plant utilisation rates and contained tin tonnage. The
exposure of the higher-grade ore at Uis has enabled us to expedite the lithium
bulk-sampling campaigns. We are extremely pleased with the initial commercial
sale of petalite concentrate that validates the value of Uis's lithium
mineralisation. Furthermore, the ongoing testwork will inform the lithium
integration circuit studies whilst securing the off-take agreements for the
petalite concentrate. Importantly, the steady-state production and sale of
tantalum concentrate has firmly established Andrada as a critical metals'
global supplier.

The continued support from our lenders as demonstrated by the finalisation of
the Bank Windhoek funding agreement is an endorsement of our ability to
implement and achieve our strategic objectives. Finally, the high-profile
partnership announced earlier this month with SQM on Lithium Ridge alongside
the recent drilling results at Brandberg West truly confirm the high-quality
nature of our resource portfolio and the exciting opportunity at Andrada."

OPERATIONAL review
TIN
Q2 & H1 performance

Ore processed in Q2 FY2025 increased by 5% to 243 528 and by 8% in H1 FY 2025
to 481 504 YoY. The ore mined was blended to improve ore utilisation whilst
maintaining a grade in line with the reserve statement. The feed grade will
continue to be maintained within the range of 0.135% to 0.145% tin ("Sn").

The plant processing rate in Q2 FY2025 was slightly lower at 130 tonnes per
hour ("tph"), compared to 138tph in Q2 FY2024 and 134tph in Q1 FY2025, mainly
due to enhanced maintenance implemented on the crushing circuit during the
Quarter. Consequently, the combination of the lower feed grade and processing
rate resulted in the marginal decrease in tin concentrate production to 388
tonnes (Q2 FY2024: 398 tonnes). Although the resulting contained tin tonnage
in Q2 FY2025 was essentially flat YoY at 239 tonnes (Q2 FY2024: 238 tonnes),
the tonnage for the six-month period was 2% higher than the comparative period
at 462 tonnes (H1 FY2024: 454 tonnes).

Table 1: Uis Mine unaudited tin production and cost performance
 Description                   Unit                 Q2 FY2024  Q1 FY2025  Q2 FY2025  H1 FY2024  H1 FY2025  Q225 vs Q125  Q225 vs Q224  H125 vs H124
 Feed grade                    % Sn                 0.161      0.141      0.139      0.156      0.140      -1%           -14%          -10%
 Plant processing rate         tonnes per hour      138        134        130        136        132        -3%           -6%           -3%
 Ore processed                 tonnes               232 154    237 976    243 528    446 621    481 504    2%            5%            8%
 Tin concentrate               tonnes               398        364        388        758        752        7%            -3%           -1%
 Contained tin                 tonnes               238        233        239        454        462        3%            0%            2%
 Tin recovery*                 %                    67         69         75         65         72         9%            12%           11%
 Plant availability            %                    92         89         91         92         90         2%            -1%           -2%
 Plant utilisation             %                    83         90         93         81         92         3%            12%           14%
 Uis mine C1 operating cost¹   USD/t contained tin  19 560     18 869     19 927     18 161     19 400     9%            2%            7%
 Uis mine C2 operating cost²   USD/t contained tin  22 252     23 422     24 662     20 796     24 043     8%            11%           16%
 Uis mine AISC³                USD/t contained tin  26 671     28 775     27 931     24 662     28 328     -1%           5%            15%
 Tin price achieved            USD/t contained tin  25 183     30 839     31 937     25 912     31 397     4%            27%           21%

1        C1 refers to operating cash cost per unit of production
excluding selling expenses and sustaining capital expenditure.

2        C2 refers to operating cash cost per unit of production is C1
plus selling expenses including logistics, smelting and royalties.

3        All-in sustaining cost (AISC) incorporates all costs related
to sustaining production; capital expenditure associated with developing and
maintaining the Uis operation as well as pre-stripping waste mining costs.

*Tin recovery includes stockpiles.

Tin pre-concentration circuit expansion and Continuous Improvement II ("CI2")

The delivery of the crusher circuit components for the pre-concentration
circuit from Metso commenced in Q2 FY2025. MetC Engineering continues to
develop the detailed plant design. The CI2 process efficiency improvements
have resulted in the increased tin recovery to 75% in Q2 FY2025 and 72% in H1
FY2025.

TANTALUM
Tantalum production and supply

Approximately 16 tonnes of tantalum concentrate were produced during the
Quarter, an increase of 78% from approximately nine tonnes produced during Q1
FY2025. The Company has supplied AfriMet with 15 tonnes to date and has
received a 90% provisional payment for the full supply.

Table 2: Tantalum production
 Description                 Unit    Q1 FY2025  Q2 FY2025
 Tantalum concentrate        tonnes  9          16
 Contained tantalum          kg      865        1 731
 Tantalum concentrate grade  %       10         11
 Tantalum recovery           %       3          6

Lithium
Lithium pilot plant

A one-off spot sale to a ceramic producer of five tonnes petalite at a grade
of over 4% Li₂O was completed during the Quarter. Furthermore, bulk sampling
for potential off takers was implemented during the Quarter from the high -
grade Uis ore recently exposed through the accelerated push-back. The facility
continues to be primarily utilised for business development bulk sampling
campaigns. Importantly, the testing campaigns will also contribute to the
modelling of the integrated lithium circuit thereby expediting the achievement
of the Company's lithium to market objective.

FINANCial review
Cost overview

All Q2 and H1 costs were within management guidance despite the higher
maintenance costs and plant outage in Q1 FY2025. The combination of processing
and inflationary mining cost increases resulted in the increase in the C1 cost
in the period under review. The YoY double-digit increase in the C2 cost for
both the Quarter and six-month period was mainly due to the royalty expense
introduced as the beginning of CY2025. The lower average stripping ratio
resulted in the lower YoY increase in the AISC compared to C2 costs of 5% for
Q2 FY2025. Available cash on 31 August 2024 was £8.2 million (USD10.8
million).

Bank Windhoek funding

Andrada finalised the conditional NAD175 million (£7.5 million) agreements
between the subsidiary Uis Tin Mining Company (PTY) Ltd and BWL. The funding
terms from BWL, including lower monthly and longer period repayments unlock
higher cashflow for the Company. Furthermore, BWL has stated interest in
funding construction of requisite electricity infrastructure at Uis for the
planned future growth. (See announcement released on 7 August 2024).

POST - PERIOD
Strategic process

On 9 September 2024, the Company concluded a three stage earn-in agreement
with Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA through its subsidiary SQM
Australia (Pty) Ltd ("SQM"). The agreement is for SQM to partner with the
Company in developing the spodumene - rich Lithium Ridge asset. The Agreement
brings both the financial and technical capabilities required to accelerate
the exploration of Lithium Ridge. (See announcement released on 9 September
2024).

Andrada has established and continues to pursue robust value-accretive
relationships with global organisations that have the technical and funding
capabilities to optimally assist in advancing the Company's growth
initiatives.

Brandberg West first batch drilling results

Andrada released exploration drilling results from the Brandberg West
exploration licence. These results constituted the first batch of samples from
this programme, representing ten (10) out of the twenty (20) holes drilled.
Selected holes indicated intersections with significant tin, tungsten and
copper mineralisation over limited meterage.  (See announcement released on
12 September 2024 for full details).

 CONTACTS                             +27 (11) 268 6555
 Andrada Mining

Anthony Viljoen, CEO

 Sakhile Ndlovu, Investor Relations

 NOMINATED ADVISOR & BROKER
 Zeus Capital                          +44 (0) 20 2382 9500

Katy Mitchell

 Harry Ansell

 Andrew de Andrade

 CORPORATE BROKER & ADVISOR
 H&P Advisory Limited                 +44 (0) 20 7907 8500

Andrew Chubb

 Jay Ashfield

 Matt Hasson

 Berenberg                            +44 (0) 20 3753 3040

Jennifer Lee

 Natasha Ninkov

 FINANCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS
 Tavistock (United Kingdom)           +44 (0) 207 920 3150

Emily Moss

                                    andrada@tavistock.co.uk
 Josephine Clerkin

About Andrada Mining Limited

Andrada Mining Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM), New York
(OTCQB) and Namibia Stock Exchange with mining assets in Namibia, a top-tier
investment jurisdiction in Africa. Andrada strives to produce critical raw
materials from a large resource portfolio, to contribute to a more sustainable
future, improved living conditions and the upliftment of communities adjacent
to its operations. Leveraging its strong foundation in Namibia, Andrada is on
a strategic path to becoming a leading African producer of critical metals
including lithium, tin, tungsten, tantalum and copper. These metals are
important enablers of the green energy transition, being essential for
components of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

 

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