Alphamin Resources reports another record year for tin production
The mine – located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – saw tin metal production reach 3,113 tonnes in the fourth quarter, bringing the annual production to 12,493 tonnes in 2022. This is some 14% higher than the previous record year total of 10,969 tonnes. Increases in production were driven by improvements in ore processed and tin grades, with underground mining performing particularly well.
Average tin grades of 3.82% for the year were 7% higher than 2021, after a highly mineralised area, not previously included in mineral resource or mine plan, was successfully mined. However, because of the structurally complex nature of the material, recoveries were negatively impacted. Between Q2 and Q3, plant recoveries dropped 5 percentage points to 72%, recovering slightly to 73% in the final quarter. Overall, the 75% average plant recovery was a slight improvement on the previous year.
Looking to the coming year, the company is predicting similar production to 2022 – around 12,000 tonnes. Production is looking to increase from then on, with the Mpama South project to come online in 2024, once comissioning of the mine is complete in the final quarter this year.
An updated Mpama South Resource is expected imminently once latest lab assay results are finalised.
2022 has been a tough year for miners, with the tin price being highly volatile. Despite this, Alphamin have been able to achieve an all-in-sustaining-cost of US $14,289 per tonne, 20% lower than the lowest tin prices reported on the LME this year.
2023 looks to be another steady year for Alphamin, before their operations ramp up in 2024. Bringing output to almost 20,000 tonnes contained tin per year will propel them to new rankings amongst major tin producers.
