Andrada Mining shares drop on Q1 update

21st Jun 2024 11:09

(Sharecast News) - The market value of Andrada Mining sunk by more than a tenth on Friday after the Namibia-focused miner reported that plant outages kept a lid on tin processing rates in its first quarter, though the company said it was well placed to take advantage of the recent rise in tin prices.

Tin ore processed during the three months to 31 May increased by 10% year-on-year to 237,976 tonnes but was flat quarter-on-quarter. The company said a malfunction in the ore preparation section resulted in plant outages during the period, but has now been repaired.

Nevertheless, the quarter saw a surge in the realised price of tin to $30,839 per tonne from $25,149 the year before.

"Coinciding favourably with our expansion of both tin concentrate and contained tin production, we are ideally positioned to capitalise on the tin price rally that began in April 2024," said chief executive Anthony Viljoen.

"Despite the plant outages during the quarter, I am pleased to confirm that all the issues were resolved and will not repeat in the future."

Elsewhere, the production of saleable tantalum concentrate was up 14% quarter-on-quarter at nine tonnes.

Andrada's guidance on costs for the full year was maintained, despite the introduction of the Orion royalty charges and ongoing mining cost increases. The company said that enhanced plant performance, following the completion of an expansion programme, is expected to reduce operational costs.

By 1118 BST, the stock was down nearly 11% at 4.1p.