Aim-listed Andrada Mining has secured conditional strategic funding of N$98-million, or about £4.4-million, through ten-year loan facilities from Namibian-owned institutions Bank Windhoek and the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN).

The loan facilities are for the company’s subsidiary Uis Tin Mining Company (UTMC), comprising two equal tranches of about N$49-million, or about £2.2-million.

In a statement to shareholders, the company says the funding complements the $11-million, or about £8.1-million, equity raise completed in April for concurrent growth initiatives.

The loan facilities and the recent fundraise will collectively support key operational upgrades and expansion initiatives at the Uis mine, in Namibia, including ore sorter integration, additional crushing capacity, acceleration of stripping activities and updated resource and reserve estimates.

The loan facilities will complete UTMC’s funding requirements to achieve targeted increases in concentrate production at the Uis mine.

“This funding package, a collaboration between the company, Bank Windhoek and Development Bank of Namibia, shows a strong commitment within Namibia to enable local development of large-scale projects,” says Andrada CEO Anthony Viljoen.

“Their willingness to commit long-term, low-cost development capital reflects the credible business we have built.

“It is important to note that the strong shareholder support shown in the April equity raise, for concurrent growth initiatives, was partly the foundation that made this debt financing possible.

“Collectively, this capital structure provides a fully funded platform to complete the ore-sorting circuit and to drive meaningful production growth at the Uis mine without further dilution,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Andrada has also announced that the expanded diamond drilling programme at its Lithium Ridge project, in Namibia, undertaken in partnership with Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (SQM) through its subsidiary SQM Australia, has been successfully completed.

The programme was expanded by about 18% from the original scope of 14 500 m to about 16 500 m across 143 – now completed – drill holes to further define the scale, continuity and geometry of the mineralised pegmatite system across the project area.

To date, assay results from 22 holes – 15% of the total programme – confirm consistent high-grade lithium from surface to drill depth, with notable intersections of up to 3.02% lithium oxide (Li₂O) over 5 m.

Andrada says the drill holes have also identified tin and tantalum mineralisation within the same pegmatites, providing meaningful polymetallic optionality.

Although the drilling has been completed, the company notes that the geological teams continue to process the core, including detailed structural and geological logging, sampling and assay.

With 85% of assay results still to be received, the company says it expects a sustained news flow of drilling results over the coming months.

Each batch of results will contribute to an updated geological model that will underpin resource estimation and define the next phase of exploration and development.

The company says the scale potential of the system, the quality of the mineralisation already reported and the calibre of the joint venture partner SQM, together position Lithium Ridge as one of the most exciting lithium exploration assets in Southern Africa.

Viljoen explains that the decision to extend the drilling programme at Lithium Ridge by 18% was driven by the quality and consistency of what the company’s geologists were seeing in the ground.

He describes the intersections of up to 3.02% Li₂O as “exceptional by any global standard”.

“Conducting this programme alongside SQM provides a level of technical rigour and commercial credibility that we believe the market will come to appreciate more fully as further results are released,” he says.