Uis Phase 1 Expansion Update and Lending Facility

21 September 2021

AfriTin Mining Limited

 ("AfriTin" or the "Company")

Uis Phase 1 Expansion Update and Lending Facility

AfriTin Mining Limited (AIM: ATM), an African tin mining company with its flagship asset, the Uis Tin Mine ("Uis") in Namibia, is pleased to announce it has entered into a conditional, credit approved, lending facility with Standard Bank Namibia Ltd ("Standard Bank"), to fund the expansion of the Uis Phase 1 processing plant ("Lending Facility").

Highlights:

·      Headline terms for a NAD 90 million (approximately GBP 4.5 million) Senior Secured Term Loan ("Term Loan") have been agreed with Standard Bank Namibia Ltd;

·      The agreement marks the beginning of a long-term partnership for future Uis expansions;

·      The intention is that the loan will fund the expansion of the current Phase 1 pilot processing plant. The expansion is planned to increase tin concentrate production by 67% from 720 tonnes of tin concentrate per annum to 1,200 tonnes of tin concentrate per annum;

·      The Phase 1 expansion commissioning is expected to be completed during Q2 2022.

Anthony Viljoen (CEO) commented:

"Following the completion of the DFS in May 2021, we are pleased to announce these headline terms for a term loan facility with Standard Bank in Namibia. This marks the start of a long-term banking partnership to continue the development of the Uis Tin mine and provides a financing partner not only for the Phase 1 processing plant but the longer-term Phase 2 development plans. This term sheet is a strong endorsement for the Company and its expansion of tin production and our focus to bring the significant lithium and tantalum revenue streams into production.

This financing, together with the GBP 13 million recent equity raise, should provide the Company with a strong balance sheet to increase tin production and unlock the wider lithium and tantalum new technology metal- related opportunities."

Marco Triebner (Head of Investment Banking, Standard Bank Namibia), commented:

"We are pleased to enter this agreement with AfriTin for the expansion of the Uis Tin Mine. Uis was historically the world's largest open pit tin mine, and it is very exciting to see a new mine being developed for the benefit of Namibia and all stakeholders. We are pleased to partner with AfriTin who, like Standard Bank, are invested in the long-term success of Namibia and its mining industry."

The Company has agreed a term sheet for a NAD 90 million (approximately GBP 4.5 million) Term Loan with Standard Bank. The headline terms include the following:

·      Loan term of 5 years

·      Ranked as senior secured debt

·      Interest rate of 3-month JIBAR (currently 3.67%) plus 4.5% (currently equal to 8.17%)

In addition to the Term Loan, the intention is that Standard Bank will take over the Company's existing short-term banking facilities (working capital facilities) with Nedbank Namibia totalling NAD 43 million (approximately GBP 2.2 million). These facilities will incur an interest rate of Namibian prime lending rate (currently 7.50%) minus 1.00%. Furthermore, it is intended that Standard Bank will provide AfriTin Mining (Namibia) Pty Limited with a NAD 5 million guarantee to Namibia Power Corporation Pty Limited in relation to a deposit for the supply of electrical power.

Any final agreement is subject to legal opinion and negotiation of documents. At this stage there can be no guarantee the Lending Facility will be entered into but the Directors and Standard Bank have every confidence that it will be. A further announcement will be made when the documents are executed (expected before 31 October 2021 when these credit approved terms expire).

Project Summary

On 14 June 2021, the Board approved a Definitive Feasibility Study for an expansion of the Uis Phase 1 pilot processing plant, projected to increase tin concentrate production by 67%, from 720 tonnes per annum to 1,200 tonnes per annum.

The project scope consists of a modular expansion of the current plant, leveraging existing bulk infrastructure services and installed processing configurations. Approximately 70% of the project capital will be applied towards the expansion of the dry crushing and screening circuits, consisting mainly of an additional secondary crusher and vibrating screen, and a fines ore stockpile to decouple the comminution circuit from the concentrator. The balance of the project capital relates to addressing potential throughput constraints in the concentrator that may result from the increased feed rate, as well as improvements to the concentrate cleaning circuit to enhance tin recovery.

The project has commenced with the ordering of long lead items, appointment of a project implementation team, and engineering detailing to facilitate procurement and fabrication. Completion of construction and commissioning is planned during Q2 2022, followed by a 3-month ramp-up to nameplate capacity for the expanded plant. Disruption of existing production is not expected to exceed 4 weeks. The modular nature of the expansion will make it possible for most of the construction to be completed while operating the current plant circuits. Plant shutdowns will only be required for the tie-in of new circuits and cold commissioning of the integrated circuits. The Company intends to report on the project progress as part of its quarterly production updates.

About AfriTin Mining Limited

Notes to Editors

AfriTin Mining Limited is the first pure tin company listed in London and its vision is to create a portfolio of globally significant, conflict-free, tin-producing assets. The Company's flagship asset is the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia, formerly the world's largest hard-rock open cast tin mine.

AfriTin is managed by an experienced board of directors and management team with a current strategy to ramp-up production at the Uis Tin Mine in Namibia to 10,000 tonnes of concentrate in a Phase 2 expansion, having reached Phase 1 commercial production in 2020. The Company strives to capitalise on the solid supply/demand fundamentals of tin by developing a critical mass of tin resource inventory, achieving production in the near term and further scaling production by consolidating tin assets in Africa.