Andrada Mining (AIM:ATM) seeks to put its Lithium Ridge Project in Namibia into production by 2028–2029, following completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).
Speaking to Mining.com.au, CEO Anthony Viljoen says the company is shifting its focus to an aggressive drilling program, as well as resource and reserve definition, ahead of the DFS.
“There’s a lot of work that we want to accelerate and we do see that the lithium market is on its way up,” Viljoen says.
“I think that we’re going to hit another peak again between 2028–2029, so we want to make sure that by the time that peak comes, we will be in full production.”
At the time of writing, lithium prices rose to over ¥153,000 ($31,759) per tonne, representing the highest level this year, as signs of growing demand offset the recent respite to supply.
Over the past month, the battery metal’s price has risen 8.56% and is up 99% compared to the same period last year, as reported by Trading Economics.
An incredible discovery: Lithium Ridge
The Lithium Ridge Project, covering 3,300 hectares, hosts pegmatites with mineralisation including lithium, tin, and tantalum.
Viljoen explains the project as an “incredible discovery” that was once an old tin mine.
“Our strategy was about consolidating all these historical mines; they were all old tin mines and we found that associated with the tin were all these other minerals, with lithium being the most prolific,” he says.
“This Lithium Ridge, it literally was a 6km ridge of high-grade spodumene. We sampled the ridge and the geology stacked up really well.
“In my view, it’s probably the most significant lithium discovery in Southern Africa in the last five years.”
Last week, Andrada Mining received the fourth batch of results from a diamond drilling program, which showed ‘high-grade’ lithium mineralisation extending along strike and continuing at depth.
Some of the results include 35.59m @ 1.52% lithium oxide (Li2O), including 24.08m @ 2% Li2O; 30.24m @ 1.23% Li2O, including 9.65m @ 1.83% Li2O; and 10.93m @ 0.67% Li2O, including 2.03m @ 1.93% Li2O.
The current diamond drill program is designed to test the down-dip continuity and grade distribution of the outcropping pegmatite swarms identified during previous channel sampling and mapping programs.
Andrada Mining says the latest batch of results demonstrates that the mineralised pegmatite bodies continue at depth with areas of lithium enrichment.
Tin and tantalum producer: Uis
The company also owns the nearby Uis tin mine, which covers an area of 19,700 hectares and hosts numerous pegmatites with mineralisation including lithium, tin, tantalum, and rubidium.
Viljoen says that the company anticipates doubling tin production and incorporating lithium into the circuit.
“There is a lot of work underway to expand those operations,” he adds.
To date, the company has identified 180 pegmatites over 5% of the licence, as well as confirmed a 138 million tonne (Mt) resource for two of the pegmatites. Andrada Mining’s medium-term target is to define a 200Mt resource across Uis’ pegmatites
During FY2026, annual ore processed increased by 8% to 1.04Mt, while tin concentrate production increased by 15% to 1,740 tonnes and contained tin production increased by 13% to 1,036 tonnes.
Tin recovery was also maintained at 72%, while shipments rose 7% to 63 during the year.
At the same time, Andrada Mining’s revenue increased 34% to £30.1 million ($56.9 million), gross profit increased to £7.7 million, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation improved materially to £3.3 million, compared with £500,000 in the prior financial year.
A company favourite: Brandberg West
The company’s third asset is Brandberg Wes, a historically producing polymetallic project also located in Namibia, which Viljoen describes as one of his favourite deposits.
“We’ve just completed a drilling program there and we’ve got a strong joint venture partner,” the CEO says.
“What is quite exciting is that the historical pit extends for another 4km. So, this could be another huge tungsten deposit.”
Following an exploration program and X-ray transmission ore-sorting test work, the company is fast-tracking Brandberg West in partnership with ACAM LP. A staged US$51 million ($71.2 million) investment provides funding for exploration, metallurgical test work, resource definition, and completion of a DFS.
The partnership is structured as a two-stage earn-in for up to 49% ownership and is intended to fund the project through completion of a DFS.
Andrada Mining has consolidated three key critical mineral assets within Namibia, in a relatively underexplored geology.
“I think people are only just realising what it is we’ve put together and how we’ve gone about developing it systematically,” Viljoen says.
“We’re in a very good place, in a very good country, and we’re definitely a company to watch in the coming months and years.”
Andrada Mining is a tin and tantalum producer with a diversified and growing polymetallic portfolio located in Namibia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Andrada Mining
