AfriTin Mining Limited (LON:ATM) said the first large-scale blast has taken place at its Uis tin mine in Namibia.

The blast is part of the phase 1 pilot production at the site, with the mining firm saying first ore had been produced from the site and was now being prepared and stockpiled to await completion of the phase 1 processing plant.

READ: AfriTin Mining starts validation drilling at Uis in Namibia

Activities at the site also included the running of first ore through the front-end comminution and crushing circuit, with ongoing tandem drilling on schedule to make the historic resource at the site JORC compliant.

Uis is formerly the world’s largest hard-rock tin mine, with AfriTin’s phase 1 pilot processing plant designed to process around 500,000 tonnes of ore per annum producing 60 tonnes of tin concentrate per month as part of the phase.

The second phase will comprise the planned operation of a 3mln tonne per annum processing facility, producing around 5,000 tonnes of tin concentrate per annum.

The company added that the first blast had been marked by a ceremony attended by the Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo.

Anthony Viljoen, chief executive of AfriTin, said the blast was the first at the site since the mine closed in 1991, adding that the news was “a big step forward” in bringing Uis back into production and generating revenues.

In early trading Thursday, AfriTin shares were up 1.6% at 3.2p.