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The Namibia-focused mining company Andrada Mining has announced highly encouraging results from preliminary metallurgical testing at its Brandberg West project. The findings indicate a substantial grade uplift alongside high metal recoveries for tungsten, tin, and copper, which together suggest a more efficient and cost-effective pathway toward full-scale production. By utilising advanced sensor-based X-ray transmission ore sorting technology, the company has successfully demonstrated that it can isolate multiple target elements simultaneously. This process resulted in a remarkable 90% reduction in mass, a factor that is expected to significantly lower future capital expenditure and accelerate the project’s development timeline.
The test work revealed that tungsten recoveries reached as high as 91%, while tin recoveries peaked at 94%. Furthermore, the ore sorting process achieved significant grade increases across all nine test samples; tungsten rose from a feed grade of 0.24% to 1.45%, copper increased from 0.73% to 2.81%, and tin improved from 0.31% to 2.09%. These figures are particularly notable as the grades extracted from historical waste dumps surpass the global average for tungsten deposits. This phase of the programme, conducted in partnership with the ACAM-affiliated vehicle BWCAM, focused on evaluating historical waste, plant discard, and tailings to determine the viability of re-processing these materials alongside hard rock from the existing pit.
“The grades achieved in this test work on the historically mined waste dumps are significantly higher than the global average for tungsten deposits with corresponding high recovery rates. This outcome reinforces our confidence as we advance toward larger-scale test batches and firmly positions tungsten as a cornerstone critical metal within Andrada’s overall portfolio,” stated Anthony Viljoen, CEO of Andrada Mining.
The success of this initial assessment marks a vital milestone for the Brandberg West project, especially given the current strength of global commodity prices for critical minerals. By validating the efficiency of polymetallic recovery, Andrada is well-positioned to produce a high-value concentrate that integrates several key metals. As the company moves forward under its staged earn-in agreement, the focus will shift toward larger-scale batches to further solidify the project’s economic and operational foundations within the region.
