- After a massive climb in the tin price, Aus Tin Mining (ANW) has re-evaluated its Granville and Taronga tin projects in Australia
- The Granville project has been under care and maintenance for almost 18 months
- However, Aus Tin has secured an exploration licence which is expected to be prospective for tin and may provide considerable exploration upside
- A pre-feasibility study completed for the Taronga project outlined a net present value (NPV) of $63.2 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 27.3 per cent
- However, it indicated the upfront capex requirement would total $88 million
- In order to reduce the upfront expenditure, improve NPV and IRR, and de-risk the project, Aus Tin is conducting testing and a bulk sample program
- Aus Tin Mining is up 50 per cent with shares trading at 0.2 cents
Aus Tin Mining (ANW) has conducted a re-evaluation of its tin projects after a significant climb in the tin price.
Over the last 10 months, the price of tin has increased by over 100 per cent from a low of less than US$14,000 (roughly A$17,663) per tonne in April 2020 to US$29,349 (roughly A$37,028) as of February 20, 2021. The growth has been attributed to global supply shortages which are expected to continue.
Granville Tin Project
The Granville Tin Project is located in Tasmania and has been on care and maintenance for nearly 18 months.
Due to the rising interest in tin, the company has secured an exploration licence which surrounds the Granville mine and treatment plant and is expected to be prospective for tin.
Taronga Tin Project
The Taronga Tin Project is located in northern New South Wales within the Vegetable Creek Tin Field. This area has historically produced 89,000 tonnes of high-quality tin with the source believed to be hard rock ore deposits. These deposits are in the district of a similar type to, and including the Taronga Tin Project.
Aus Tin also owns similar sheeted vein systems at four other prospects which have been underexplored and may add resources to the overall project.
In 2014, a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the project showed a net present value (NPV) of $63.2 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 27.3 per cent. However, the PFS indicated the upfront capex requirement would be $88 million.
Recently, Aus Tin has been looking at ways to reduce up-front capex, improve NPV and IRR, and de-risk the project.
While there are multiple ways this can be done, Aus Tin recently got encouraging results from high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) testing. HPGR testing is a method used to effectively separate coarse tin mineral and pre-concentrate the ore before it’s sent to the gravity circuit for recovery.
The test resulted in 62 per cent of the tin being concentrated into only 29 per cent of the original mass. HPGRs are considered advantageous as they use less power and involves less operationg costs to break down ore.
Aus Tin will now conduct further tests to examine the pressing force and top feed size on representative ore samples.
The miner will also undertake a bulk sampling program to determine grade enhancement.
Aus Tin Mining is up 50 per cent with shares trading at 0.2 cents at 1:53 pm AEDT