On site
AfriTin on a
consolidation drive
A
Although Iscor did a good job of getting to
some of the tin, they left easy pickings, and
AfriTin has latched onto it. Moreover, the
pegmatite belt, which hosts the tin, stretches
much further than Uis and its surrounds.
In fact, geological surveys have shown that
it continues for more than 100km in a
south-westerly direction towards the town
of Henties Bay on the coast. What’s more is
that the belt doesn’t only host tin, but high
concentrations of tantalum and lithium as
well, which, according to forecasters, will
play an increasingly important role in the
future as new battery and renewable energy
solutions are developed.
AfriTin has also acquired additional
mining licenses in the general area of Uis,
including two exploration licenses for the
Brandberg West tin and tungsten mine, and
a license in the Goantagab belt, not too far
north of the Uis project. Exploration and
mining activity in the region continue to
ramp up, and as demand for tin, tungsten,
and tantalum increases, Uis might just
return to its glory days.
Pegmatite for Africa
AfriTin acquired the mining rights for
the Uis deposit through a local company
called Guineafowl in 2016 and has since
pushed full-steam ahead to get the mine
up and running again. A host of smaller
companies and operations attempted to
South African company
AfriTin is on a major drive to
resuscitate tin mining in the
Damaraland region of Namibia.
Leon Louw visited the Uis
project last year with the
exploration manager at AfriTin
Mining, Tim Marais.
friTin, headed by Anthony
Viljoen, is busy mopping up
scattered tin deposits in the
southern African region. The central regions
of Namibia, especially in and around the old
mine workings of Iscor in Uis, is high on
AfriTin’s bucket list.
One of 16 pits historically mined by Iscor.
24 AFRICAN MINING MAY - JUNE 2019
www.africanmining.co.za