Andrada Mining has opted to settle its annual interest on outstanding convertible loan notes in equity, issuing 31,981,474 ordinary shares at 2.9293 pence to noteholders in lieu of a £936,833 cash payment.
The price reflects the 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) before the 21 July 2025 interest date, as permitted under the loan terms.
On the numbers, the share count multiplied by the issue price equates to roughly £936,833, aligning with the coupon due, so there is no implied discount or premium embedded in the settlement.
Project background (why this matters): Andrada (formerly AfriTin) operates the Uis Mine in Namibia’s Erongo Region—historically a tin operation—while expanding into lithium and tantalum by recovering by-products from the same large pegmatite orebody. ]
Proceeds from the company’s July 2023 £7.7 million unsecured convertible notes funded the completion of the lithium pilot plant and the tantalum circuit, both key steps in Andrada’s polymetallic strategy to diversify revenue and improve unit economics at Uis.
The notes carry a 12% coupon and mature on 20 July 2026.
Each year, interest is payable after the anniversary of issue (21 July) in either cash or shares priced off the 30-day VWAP.
By electing to pay the 2025 coupon in shares, Andrada preserves cash that might otherwise have been withdrawn from the business during the mid-ramp-up period, while maintaining the debt structure intact until maturity (or earlier conversion under the note terms).
In a market where working capital can be tight—especially during commissioning and optimisation of new circuits—conserving liquidity can be accretive to near-term execution, even though it adds a small amount of dilution.
Admission of the new shares to trading on AIM is expected at 8:00 a.m. on 20 August 2025.
The shares are being issued fully paid and will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.
Following admission, Andrada’s issued share capital will total 1,870,327,193 ordinary shares with voting rights, meaning the interest-settlement shares represent about 1.71% of the enlarged register.
That new total becomes the denominator for any shareholder disclosure thresholds under the company’s Articles, the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, and the AIM Rules for Companies.
From a capital-markets perspective, paying interest in shares is a trade-off: modest dilution today in exchange for cash retention to support operations and growth projects.
For Andrada, the timing aligns with the bedding-in of the lithium pilot plant and the integration of the tantalum circuit at Uis—initiatives designed to lift plant utilisation, add product streams, and smooth revenue beyond tin alone.
If those initiatives deliver as intended, the company can potentially offset the incremental share count with higher future cash flows.
Conversely, equity-settled interest can weigh on per-share metrics in the short term, so execution against the Uis improvement plan remains the key investor focus.
What to watch next: operational updates on lithium pilot performance and tantalum recoveries; any guidance on scaling the pilot to commercial throughput; the company’s approach to 2026 principal repayment or conversion of the notes; and routine AIM filings reflecting the enlarged share capital.
For now, the decision keeps cash inside the business while signalling confidence that Uis’s multi-metal flowsheet can create value as the new circuits mature.
