Column: Demand weakness helps cushion tin from supply problems
Tin demand last year was weaker than expected and is on course for only a modest recovery in 2024, according to the International Tin Association.
Tin producer Alphamin Resources (TSXV: AFM) has released an updated resource estimate for the Mpama South project, highlighting a 46% increase in the inferred category based on assays from 22 additional extensional drill holes.
The Mpama South inferred resource now stands at 4.99 million tonnes grading 2.50% Sn for 124,700 tonnes of contained tin. The indicated resource stayed at 840,000 tonnes grading 2.53% Sn for 21,400 tonnes of contained tin.
According to the company, there is significant potential for additional resource growth at Mpama South, as a substantial quantity of subsequent drilling has yet to be included in this update.
Around 27 additional holes have been drilled within and beyond the limits of the updated mineral resource, the majority of which are part of an infill drilling campaign targeting conversion of inferred resources to indicated resource confidence. The infill drill campaign will be completed by July, and an updated resource is expected to be announced in Q3 2022.
Meanwhile, extensional drilling down dip and in the shallower northern portion of Mpama South will resume in June to carry on extending known mineralization, which is still open in multiple directions.
The Mpama South project is located about 1 km away from Alphamin’s Mpama North mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mpama North currently produces about 3% of the world’s mined tin at 12,000 tonnes per annum and has a mine life of 12.5 years.
In March 2022, the company released its the first mineral resource estimate for Mpama South, as well as a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) that showed an estimated annual tin production of 7,232 tonnes.
Completion of the project, which is still in early development, would take Alphamin’s total annual tin production to nearly 20,000 tonnes, representing 6.6% of the global total.
