AUS Tin Mining Limited is well on the way to achieving its goal and vision of becoming a major Australian tin producer.
In April this year, the company recommenced production at the high grade Granville Tin Project north of Zeehan in Tasmania, and intends to expand the life of the mine through exploration.
Aus Tin Mining chief executive Peter Williams was pleased that production is ramping up at the project.
“Having completed construction of the new tailings storage facility (TSF) in January 2019, and the transition to owner mining in March, Level 2 operations are ramping up, and recently the Company commenced processing of skarn material that is the predominate ore source at the mine,” Mr Williams said.
Granville is forecast to generate strong margins with estimated cash cost of A$17,300/t of recovered tin, compared to a current tin price of A$28,000/t, and the company will pursue opportunities for operational and financial efficiencies (eg. potential sale of waste rock).
There is also strong potential to expand the life of the Granville mine, with possible extension of mineralisation at depth at the current pit, and opportunities to exploit other regional tin deposits.
“Mineralisation at the Granville East Mine plunges below the scheduled pit design and drilling will be undertaken to test this potential extension,” Mr Williams said.
“The company will also evaluate the Central Big H target that is about 500m from the processing plant and located on the existing mining lease.”
The forecast strong margins over A$10,000/t of contained tin at current prices, and ramping up production in H1 2019, will deliver a solid cash flow in the second half of 2019 for both Taronga and Mt Cobalt exploration.
Taronga trial
The world-class Taronga Tin Project near Emmaville (NSW) received the go ahead for a trial mine and pilot plant in December 2017 and final regulatory approval in May of this year, pushing Aus Tin Mining closer to its vision.
Mr Williams said the company is currently finalising preparations for a near-term commencement of trial mining with processing of ore expected to commence in late 2019.
“The trial mine and pilot processing plant will provide the opportunity to review a number areas of potential upside include resource grade, tin recovery and recovery of by-product credits including copper and silver, and provide a platform for the full scale development contemplated in the 2014 Pre-Feasibility Study,” he said.
Stage one of the Taronga trial mine and on-site pilot plant for ore processing has demonstrated proof of concept, with 340,000t or ore able to be mined and processed over 18 months to produce concentrate for sale and provide samples to smelters.
Aus Tin Mining has been able to test its processing capabilities, including increased tin recovery, by employing latest gravity separation equipment including potential ore sorting, increased tin grade with evaluation of silicate flotation for removal of diluents, and the recovery of by-product credits by generating a large sample from which comprehensive text work can be undertaken – and the potential recovery of copper and silver to not only enhance economics, but which could support potential financing including commodity hedging and/or pre-sales.
Taronga is expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2022, with a proposed initial mine life of around nine years.
The company is aiming to develop a 30-year-plus mine life around the project through the exploration of its highly prospective tenement package, utilising a centralised processing plant at Taronga.
Life-of-mine extension targets include large scale deposits, similar to or larger than Taronga, which could extend the life of the operation, and includes the most advanced McDonalds prospect and high grade supplementary targets of historic high grade mines too small to justify their own plant, but which could be treated at Taronga, as well as the most advanced Dutchman/Harts prospect.
While it’s an ambitious extension plan, Aus Tin Mining does hold about 88,000t of historic tin production plus a dominant position of around 450sqkm encompassing the mineralised Grampian Corridor and contact of the Mole Granite, with exploration licences prospective for tin, copper, silver, lithium, tungsten, molybdenum and rubidium.
Mr Williams said that the company is also actively exploring for cobalt at its Mt Cobalt project west of Gympie (Qld).
“We completed a program of drilling at Mt Cobalt in May 2019 highlighting the high grade nickel intersections up to 1.6pcNi near surface, and the existence of shear zones north of previous drilling enabling an extension of the target zone to 500m long x 25m wide and open at depth,” he said.
Emerging EV market
All of this points to the capacity for globally significant production for Aus Tin Mining.
Over the past three years, tin prices have risen around 60pc to above US$21,000/t before settling back down to just above US$19,000/t – and according to the International Tin Association (ITA), the price is predicted to remain stable and steadily rise to around US$22,000 in 2022.
One potential reason the ITA cites for this rise is the growing awareness of tin’s role in the emerging electric vehicle revolution.
Tin has a wide range of technical properties that mean its uses extend to many areas of everyday life, and it can adapt to meet emerging needs for new materials that can generate, store and deliver tomorrow’s energy.
The ITA has identified nine technology opportunities for tin in lithium-ion batteries, mainly in high-capacity anode electrode materials, but also in solid-state and cathode materials, solar PV, thermoelectric materials, hydrogen-related applications and carbon capture.
While there is uncertainty in all long-term forecasts for lithium-ion battery markets, ITA estimates that, if tin does gain market share, lithium-ion batteries could grow to represent a significant new tin use in the 2025-2030 timescale.
Mr Williams said that these trends, along with a limited pipeline of projects globally that are significantly progressed and often in challenging jurisdictions, have helped to solidify Aus Tin Mining’s position to take advantage of this emerging market.
“Tin has been identified as the metal most exposed to new technology, with consumption set to rise with increased electrification of vehicles and applications in energy generation and storage,” Mr Williams said.
“At the same time supply constraints out of traditional markets, including Myanmar and Indonesia, are compounding a global deficit for the metal.
“With plans deliver tin concentrate from two mines, the company will be well-placed to take advantage of any rises in demand for tin.”
Aus Tin Mining is also focused on energy mentals adjacent to its core tin business, with the prospective for exploration at Mt Cobalt and Pembroke targets in Queensland for nickel, copper and cobalt.
At Pembroke drilling has identified confirmed nickel sulphides and separate copper-gold and nickel-cobalt zones, including previous drill results of 7m @ 2.1g/tAu, 0.68pcCu from 26m and 4m @ 1.1pcNi, 620ppmCo1 from 71m.
At Mt Cobalt drilling has confirmed the presence of high cobalt grades, such as 0.32pcCo, 0.62pcNi over 25m, including 1.5m @ 1.48pcCo, 1.3pcNi.
Most recent drilling has highlighted shallow high grade nickel intersections and extension of the target shear zone that has been found elsewhere at Mt Cobalt to host high grade cobalt mineralisation.
Mr Williams said that the next five years would be pivotal for the company, with the advancement towards full scale mining at Taronga and the expansion of Granville.
“Our vision is to become a major Australian tin producer and during the next five to 10 years we want to expand our production base at Taronga and unlock this highly prospective historic tin field,” he said.
“At the same time we’ll evaluate external opportunities that could deliver value.”
