Alphamin Resources, which mines tin in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, says its Mpama South project development remains on track for commissioning in December 2023.
Alphamin, which has a primary listing in Toronto and mines about 4% of the world’s tin, reported ore processed rose 5% year on year to 436,400 tonnes for the year to end-December 2022.
Revenue grew to $391m (about R7.2bn), up from $353m in the previous year, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) were up 12% to $222m for the period, at an average tin price of $30,636 per tonne.
The company told shareholders on Friday it “remains of the opinion that global tin supply is likely to be constrained during the next five years while demand for tin is expected to increase”.
“In light of these market fundamentals, the development of the Mpama South project and consequent planned production expansion to approximately 20,000 tonnes of contained tin per year bodes well for future cash flow generation,” it said.
The group’s consolidated net cash position stood at $109m by year-end and a final dividend of three Canadian cents per share was declared.
Capital allocation for 2023 will be prioritised towards the development of the Mpama South project, DRC tax payments and shareholder distributions.
The group has a secondary listing on the JSE’s AltX, where it is valued at about R14.76bn. Its Mpama North mine is the world’s highest-grade tin resource, with the group saying it is about four times higher than most other operating tin mines.
Tin is primarily used for soldering circuit boards, but demand in coming years is expected to be sustained due to demand in evolving technologies, including energy storage and vehicle batteries, according to a report from market research firm Mordor Intelligence.
Tin prices soared in 2021 amid a recovery in industrial demand and production constraints in the world’s largest producer, China, which had faced an energy crunch and environmental crackdowns by authorities.
Strong demand, concern over inventories and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have resulted in a surge in the prices of many industrial metals in 2022, and tin hit a record of $48,650 a tonne in March of that year.
Alphamin’s share price closed 0.77% weaker at R11.60 on Friday, having fallen more than 161% over the past year.
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