Andean Precious Metals Corporation (APM) has confirmed the initiation of expansion studies at its San Bartolome Mine, an important step in its strategic plan to extend the life of the mine, which may include tin production.
Located in Potosi, Bolivia, the SAN Bartolome Project is owned and operated by APM. The project is primarily a silver mine that has produced an average of more than 5 million ounces of silver per year since 2008.
The $2 million expansion study will be divided into three parts: updated mineral resource estimates, scoping studies and tailings evaluation.
During 13 years of operation, fine-grained materials (less than 2.5 mm) were screened prior to processing and subsequently stored at the mine's Fine-grained material Disposal Facility (FDF). FDF now contains about 10 million tons of this material. Not only does the fine-grained material contain some silver, but APM believes it is a potential source of tin, as it is mined from the CerroRico deposit, which is known to have a high tin grade.
Andean has completed all drilling required for FDF mineral resource estimates and plans to issue a declaration in January 2022.
The scoping study will evaluate tin processing options for storage materials. Whether to upgrade to the current plant with a gravity loop or to a new stand-alone plant depends on the best tin recovery. Testing of physical properties of stock materials for evaluation is ongoing and will be released in the first quarter of 2022.
Another opportunity for tin production is the Dry pile Tailings Facility (DSF), which contains 18 million tons of material. The tailings had previously been processed for silver, but not for tin. Drilling has begun on the tailings to assess the amount and grade of tin, which will not be included in the updated mineral resource estimates. APM expects to announce drilling results in the first quarter of 2022.
Our view: APM's SAN Bartolome project represents a near-market tin production opportunity, given the low capex and underdevelopment nature of similar redevelopment projects. In a previous investor report, the tailings alone were estimated to be about 10 million tons of ore, containing 0.25 percent tin (25,000 tons tin gold). Because fine-grained materials have been crushed, APM believes that both stocks (FDF and DSF) can be mined using low-cost hydraulic mining methods.
