First-quarter tin concentrate production hit 183 tonnes, containing 114t of tin metal, for the period March 1 to May 31, compared to a forecasted 180t. The previous quarter saw concentrate production of 195t.

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Ore processed dropped 4.6% quarter-on-quarter to 115,751t in Q1, however, with power supply issues hampering plant availability coupled with planned downtime due to DMS circuit upgrades and breakdowns in the crushing circuit during March.

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The miner classified the issues as extraordinary and did not reoccur during the quarter.

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Feed grade fell to 0.167 - from 0.186 - due to natural grade variations in the mining area but looks set to recover later in the year and 2022.

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This drop was offset somewhat by a 6% lift in overall tin recovery qoq.

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The company has started the phase one expansion of the Uis plant, after raising £13 million in an oversubscribed placement in May.

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A����would increase the plant's tin concentrate production capacity by 67% to 1,200t/y with a NPV of US$12.1 million and IRR of 54% against a capital cost of $5.1 million.

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AftriTin chief executive Anthony Viljoen is also hoping the plant expansion will "unlock the exciting and significant lithium and tantalum by-product potential we have across our extensive resource base".����

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The company is sending concentrate to its offtake partner Thaisarco via the Port of Walvis Bay despite COVID-19 related shipping delays and is receiving pre-payments from the Thailand-based company - capitalising on the ten-year high tin price of US$31,495/t.

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Shares are changing hands at 5.8p on Monday, valuing the company at £64.5 million. Shares have lifted 216% in the last year.��