London-listed technology and metals company AfriTin will accelerate the expansion of its mineral processing plant in Uis, Namibia after seeing a 20% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in tin production in Q3 2021.

The company is redeveloping the plant in two phases and has already installed all long lead equipment and completed design work for Phase 1.

It expects Phase 2 to produce 10,000 tonnes of tin concentrate, 350,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate and 1,000 tonnes of tantalum concentrate annually.

Phase 2 workstreams include an exploration drilling programme, a by-product development programme and additional studies for upgrading bulk water and power supply infrastructure.

According to the company, the objective of the by-product development programme is to enhance the beneficiation processes and offtake routes for additional revenue streams through the sale of separate lithium and tantalum products.

The programme includes a range of off-site metallurgical test work campaigns and on-site bulk test work and piloting.

Phase 2 will require infrastructure upgrades and the company is negotiating with Namibian state-owned utilities and various private sector entities to explore options related to bulk water and power supply.

Potential solutions include renewable energy generation and linking up to existing desalinated water supply infrastructure in the region, it said.

Uis produced 220 tonnes of tin concentrate in Q3 2021, a 20% QoQ improvement, and 148,700 tonnes of ore, a 17% jump.

Anthony Viljoen, chief executive officer of AfriTin, said the results give the company "momentum to progress rapidly" with the Phase 1 expansion at Uis and will "serve as proof of concept" for the planned, large-scale Phase 2 facility.

"By leveraging economies of scale and the multi-commodity potential of Uis, we are confident of achieving our ultimate aim of establishing a tier-one tech-metal mining and processing operation," Viljoen said.