.AfriTin Mining Ltd (LON:ATM) hailed a “transformational” year after it achieved initial production of tin concentrate and first revenues.
The AIM-listed firm is now working on ramping up production to 720 tonnes of tin concentrate per annum then increasing capacity to 5,000 tonnes per annum.
WATCH: AfriTin Mining CEO says operations are coming along nicely with 35 tonnes produced in July
In the 12 months to February 29, the tin miner's loss before tax widened to £1.8mln from £1mln in 2019, though it notched up revenues of £47,000 from its first sale of tin.
Total sales rose to £69,000 from £26,700 the year before.
The company incurred higher expenses to make the Uis mine in Namibia a fully-fledged operation.
At year-end, there was £575,000 in the bank but since then AfriTin has raised £3mln in new equity and issued £2mln of loan notes.
“The year was a transformational one for the company, with two key objectives achieved at our flagship asset, namely: achieving initial production of tin concentrate through our newly constructed pilot processing plant and recording first revenues following our shipment of tin concentrate out of Walvis Bay,” said chairman Glen Parsons.
“I believe that to go from admission to trading on AIM in 2017, when the mine was dormant with no pilot plant infrastructure, to becoming an active tin producer in a relatively short space of time, is an excellent achievement and testament to our entire team's commitment.”
Shares rose 2% to 2.19p on Friday at the opening bell.