25
April 2024
First Tin
Plc
("First
Tin" or "the Company")
Taronga Mineral Processing
Update
Updated mineral processing
testwork has shown significantly improved
recoveries
First Tin PLC, a tin development
company with advanced, low capex projects in Australia and Germany,
is pleased to announce that ongoing mineral processing testwork for
the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") at its Taronga Tin Project
("Taronga") in Australia continues to show improved
recoveries.
The project is owned by First Tin's
100% owned Australian subsidiary, Taronga Mines Pty Ltd
("TMPL").
Results of the crushing testwork for
the LG sample (0.10% Sn head grade) have shown that:
· Conventional
crushing recovers 72.5% of tin into 46.5% of mass grading 0.16% Sn
in the minus 2.8mm fraction.
· Single pass
vertical shaft impact (VSI) crushing of the plus 2.8mm fraction
from the above conventional crushing, recovers an additional 11.7%
of tin into 11.0% of the initial mass, grading 0.08% Sn, to the
minus 2.8mm fraction.
· By
combining the two minus 2.8mm fractions, a total of 84.2% of the
initial tin is recovered to 57.5% of the initial mass with a grade
increase from 0.10% Sn to 0.15% Sn. This is an improvement from the
82% recovery previously reported on 18 September 2023 for the HG
sample (0.18% Sn).
The gravity concentration result for
the bulk LG sample previously reported on 7 March 2024 was
71.5%.
By combining the crushing and
gravity concentration results, a total recovery can be calculated
for the LG sample as:
· Crushing:
84.2% recovery
· Gravity concentration:
71.5% recovery
· Combined:
60.2% recovery
This confirms recoveries are still
good at head grades below the average grade being mined and
therefore increases confidence in overall recoveries for the
project.
Given these results, a second HG
bulk sample has been collected (HG2, head grade 0.15% Sn) to be
tested using the refined testwork flowsheet used for the LG sample.
This includes classification prior to spiral concentration and
improved locked cycle crushing and tabling.
The crushing testwork of this sample
has provided the following results to the minus 2.8mm
fractions:
· Conventional crush: 66.8%
of tin in 23.2% of mass grading 0.42% Sn
· 1st Pass
VSI:
24.3% of tin in 20.9% of mass grading 0.17% Sn
Combining conventional and
1st pass VSI crushing results gives:
· 91.2% recovery of tin in
44.1% of mass grading 0.30% Sn
These are excellent results,
significantly better than the 82% reported for the original HG
sample and the 84.2% reported for the LG sample.
If gravity concentration recoveries
can be shown to be similar to those obtained for the LG samples
(i.e., 71.5%), then total recovery at a head grade of 0.15% Sn
should be around 65-66%. This work will be reported as it is
received.
First Tin's CEO, Bill Scotting, comments:
"These excellent results build on our existing
knowledge of the mineral processing characteristics of the Taronga
tin deposit gained from work undertaken over the last 40 years.
Achieving a 60% overall recovery rate for the LG material closely
aligns with the data obtained by Newmont, substantially de-risking
the project by demonstrating that recoveries are good for this
below average grade material. If the gravity results from the
second high grade sample are shown to be similar to those obtained
for the LG sample, the overall recovery for the deposit will be
significantly better, positively bolstering the project's
economics. We look forward to the upcoming results."
Enquiries:
First Tin
|
Via SEC
Newgate below
|
Bill Scotting - Chief Executive
Officer
|
|
Arlington Group Asset Management Limited (Financial Advisor
and Joint Broker)
|
|
Simon Catt
|
020 7389
5016
|
|
|
WH
Ireland Limited (Joint Broker)
|
|
Harry Ansell
|
020 7220
1670
|
|
|
SEC
Newgate (Financial Communications)
|
|
Elisabeth Cowell / Molly
Gretton
|
FirstTin@secnewgate.co.uk
|
Notes to Editors
First Tin is an ethical, reliable,
and sustainable tin production company led by a team of renowned
tin specialists. The Company is focused on becoming a tin supplier
in conflict-free, low political risk jurisdictions through the
rapid development of high value, low capex tin assets in Germany
and Australia, which have been de-risked significantly, with
extensive work undertaken to date.
Tin is a critical metal, vital in
any plan to decarbonise and electrify the world, yet Europe has
very little supply. Rising demand, together with shortages, is
expected to lead tin to experience sustained deficit markets for
the foreseeable future.
First Tin's goal is to use
best-in-class environmental standards to bring two tin mines into
production in three years, providing provenance of supply to
support the current global clean energy and technological
revolutions.