Andrada Mining Ltd (AIM:ATM, OTC:AFTTF), the former Afritin, has upgraded the mineral resource estimate (MRE) at the Uis Mine in Namibia by 30% with more in the measured and indicated categories.
After drilling last year, measured and indicated lithium resources increased by 47% to 38Mt, while the average grade of lithium rose to 0.73% Li20 from 0.63%, lifting total contained tonnage by 30% to 587,000 tonnes.
The total MRE for the V1/V2 deposit, where the drilling was focused, inclusive of mining depletion has increased to 81Mt from 72Mt.
Tin grades also rose while there was a maiden resource declared for rubidium with a contained total of 109,400 tonnes at an average grade of 0.14% Rb.
Anthony Viljoen, chief executive, said the enlarged lithium resource at Uis confirms "it is a globally significant lithium and tin resource that remains open at depth and is one of over 180 mineralised pegmatites within 5km of the Uis processing facility".
"The drilling programme has exceeded our expectations, delivering higher grades, and has increased the overall tonnage by 13% when compared to the previous resource estimate from 2019 and 30% more contained lithium," he added.
"The updated Mineral Resource Estimate is solely from V1/V2 pegmatite, which clearly highlights the significant untapped potential of the wider Uis pegmatite swarm across our licence area."
Viljoen added that lithium pilot plant commissioning is scheduled for the second quarter while drilling going forward will investigate the other proximal pegmatites at Uis to move towards an exploration target of 200Mt.