Mining Post Namibia

Askari Metals Limited has finalised the acquisition of the 80% interest in exclusive prospecting licence 8535, which forms part of the company’s Uis Lithium Project in Namibia. The exclusive prospecting licence 8535 covers about 195 km2. Askari Metals signed a binding agreement with Earth Dimensions Consulting in Dec. 2022 to acquire the 80% interest in exclusive prospecting licence 8535. The acquisition of exclusive prospecting licence 8535 brings the Uis Lithium Project area to more than 300 km2. The shareholders of Earth Dimensions Consulting Pty Ltd hold the other 20%.   Askari Metals said on March 30 that they had issued Earth Dimensions Consulting shareholders 4,000,000 ordinary shares in its capital. The company further said that 20% is freely tradeable, with the remaining balance subject to escrow for 12 months from the issue date.  According to Askari, the completion of the acquisition of the 80% interest in exclusive prospecting licence 8535 satisfies the first condition prec

Namibia Critical Metals Inc.'s common shares started trading on the Over-the-Counter Quantitative Brokers (OTCQB) Venture Market in the US on March 28. If shares trade on the OTC market, they are not listed on major stock exchanges. Instead, a dealer network facilitates any buy and sell orders of the shares. The Namibia Critical Metals Inc. (NCMI) is developing the Lofdal Tier-1 Heavy Rare Earth Project in Namibia. Lofdal has a globally significant deposit of the heavy rare earth metals dysprosium and terbium.  The Lofdal Project is fully permitted with a 25-year mining license and is under a joint venture agreement with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC). Eligibility for OTCQB quotation requires a company to undergo an annual verification and management certification process, meet minimum financial reporting and transparency standards, and pass other tests relating to the company's capital structure and share price. The company said the decision to comm

E-Tech Resources has acquired an 85% stake in exclusive prospecting licence (EPL) 8748 in the Erongo Region from an unnamed Namibia citizen for C$210 000 (N$2 814 000). The deal was signed by E-Tech Resources' Namibia subsidiary E-Tech Kalapuse Mining (Pty) Ltd, according to a statement released on March 28. E-Tech Resources paid C$30,000 cash with the letter of intent, and C$80,000 will be paid on completion of certain conditions, including submission of the application to transfer EPL. The balance of $100,000 will be paid upon completion of the transfer EPL 8748.  The company has contracted Excel Dynamic Solutions, an independent consulting firm specialising in the natural resource sector, to apply for an environmental clearance certificate.  During this period, E-Tech will conduct non-invasive exploration activities, including desktop interpretation of the government-flown airborne regional geophysical data and reconnaissance ground truthing and evaluation of anomalies.  E-Tech

Shell Global paid US$108 363 (about N$1,95m) to the Namibian government in fees in 2022. The company said in its 2022 Sustainability, Climate & Energy Transition Lobbying and Payments to Governments released on March 28. According to the report, Shell paid $68.2 billion to 25 governments.  "We paid $13.4 billion in corporate income taxes and $8.2 billion in government royalties.  "In addition, we collected $46.6 billion in excise duties, sales taxes and similar levies on our fuel and other products on behalf of governments," Shell said. Shell CEO Wael Sawan said the report shows what they have achieved so far in their work to be a sustainable business.  "As we invest in the energy needed today, our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of our strategy.  "We are making good progress. By the end of 2022, we had reduced carbon emissions from our operations by 30% compared with 2016 on a net basis, more than halfway

  Global Petroleum, which operates the petroleum exploration licence 0094 on the Orange Basin offshore block 2011A in Namibia, reported increased estimated quantities of petroleum for the Marula and Welwitschia Deep prospects. The AIM-listed company said the Marula prospect could now hold 411 million barrels of oil compared to the previous estimate of 218 million - an 89% increase. In a statement on March 27, Global Petroleum said the estimated chance of success for the Marula prospect increased from 22% to 29%. The company further said the new total for the estimated oil quantities, including the Welwitschia Deep prospect and the seven other leads identified so far, is 3 522 million barrels compared to 3 329 million barrels - a 6% increase.  Global Petroleum, through its subsidiary Global Petroleum Namibia Limited, has 78% participating interests in 0094, National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia has 17%, and Aloe Investments Two Hundred and Two holds 5%. As the majority shareholder,

A Chinese company, Huayou International Resources, will invest N$30m via a subscription for 4,5 million shares at an issue price of US$0.55 per share in the Askari Metals Namibian Uis Lithium Project. Huayou will acquire indirect interests in EPL 7345 and EPL 8535 as approved by Askari Metals' shareholders at the general meeting on Feb. 20 2023.  Askari Metals will use the funds raised from the deal to accelerate continued exploration at the Uis Lithium Project. The strategic investment announced on March 22 is subject to a 12-month voluntary escrow period pursuant to a binding restriction agreement to be executed upon completion.  Under the agreement, Huayou will have the opportunity to participate in future equity issues by Askari Metals.  Huayou intends to grow its equity position in Askari Metals to 9.9% and maintain its equity stake by participating in future security issues. Once Huayou holds a 9.9% equity stake in Askari Metals, it will have the right to appoint a nominee to

The ASX-listed Wia Gold Limited chairperson Andrew Pardey said the company looks forward to delivering the maiden resource estimate during the second quarter of 2023. Pardey said this after the company reported that the drill exercise at Namibia's Kokoseb Gold Project had returned high-grade gold intercepts over thick mineralised zones. Wia Gold completed 77 reverse circulation holes for 15,099 metres at the end of February 2023. The company said two drill rigs are progressing with the program, and a maiden resource estimate is expected in the second quarter of 2023.  Detailed surface mapping is also underway – updating the understanding and re-interpretation of the granitic bodies, sills, dykes, and stocks intersected in the drilling. Pardey said the Kokoseb gold discovery continues to impress, regularly returning high-grade gold intercepts over thick mineralised zones.  He also said regular news flow is expected in the coming weeks as assay results are progressively received from

Logan Exploration & Investment and Okonde Mining & Exploration have agreed to sell an 85% stake in the Kameelburg rare earth project to the Australian company Aldoro Resources for N$3m. Aldoro Resources Ltd is an ASX-listed mineral exploration and development company with a portfolio of lithium, rubidium and base metal projects in Western Australia.  The Kameelburg project under mineral permits 7373, 7372, and 7895 is about 300km north of Windhoek in the Kalkveld area. Aldoro Resources agreed to pay an initial N$500 000 (A$41,000) and another N$2,5m (A$201,000) when the deal is closed. The company also agreed to issue 500,000 fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of Aldoro. The payments will be made on completion of due diligence by Aldoro on the project and the permits to the satisfaction of Aldoro and confirmed in writing. The other condition is that the exclusive prospective licence 7373 should be renewed successfully and that the parties obtain any necessary shareholder

Andrada Mining Limited reported a record quarterly production of 361 tonnes of tin concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2023, containing 214 tonnes of tin metal at its Uis Mine. The company that released its fourth quarter production report on March 20 said the year-on-year tin concentrate increased by 19% to 960 tonnes compared to 804 in 2022. There was an 18% increase in the contained tin to 586 tonnes compared to 496 in 2022. The 2024 tin concentrate production guidance has been set at between 1,400 and 1,500 tonnes - a 45% to 56% year-on-year increase due to the plant expansion ramp-up. The company also reported the lowest quarterly all-in-sustaining costs at US$18,236 per tonne of contained tin in the fourth quarter of 2023. Andrada said it anticipates completing the lithium bulk-testing pilot facility in June 2023 and that the metallurgical testwork done by Geolabs Global, an independent test facility in South Africa, has identified a process that could produce a lithium concentr

Arcadia Minerals announced that the test work conducted in South Africa points to clean and low-cost extraction at Namibia's Bitterwasser lithium clay project. Bitterwasser Project is in the Hardap Region, approximately 190 km southeast of the capital Windhoek. The project comprises four exclusive exploration licenses, EPLs 7614, 8101, 8102, 8103, and 8104. The company said on March 20 that a sample of 800kg of Bitterwasser clays collected from auger drilling samples was subjected to bench-scale leach test work at the Chemical Engineering Department, Stellenbosch University, to determine leachability using six organic acids and sulphuric acid. The results showed an 82.1% leachability of lithium into solution using organic acid at a temperature of 60°C with a six-hour resident time or 79.4% leachability of lithium into solution using organic acid at a temperature of 60°C with a two-hour resident time. Furthermore, the results showed a 93.3% leachability of lithium into solution usin

Askari Metals has requested a securities trade halt until March 23, pending an announcement about a strategic investment by a global tier-1 lithium battery materials and cobalt supplier. The Australian company is exploring and developing the Uis Lithium mine in Namibia. It also is actively exploring for gold, copper and silver. The company announced on March 20 that the trading halt is to enable the completion of the execution process of the subscription agreement and finalisation of the requirements for mutual release by both the unnamed strategic investor and Askari Metals. "The trading halt will allow the company to complete a separate institutional-led private placement. The funds raised from the Strategic investment and institutional placement will enable the company to accelerate the ongoing aggressive exploration and development programs at the Uis Lithium Project located in Namibia," the statement said. 

Valencia Uranium will conduct a technical trade-off study to evaluate the Norasa Uranium Project's practical and economic benefits. The Norasa Uranium Project is wholly owned by Valencia Uranium (Pty) Ltd. and comprises the Valencia Uranium Project under mining licence 149 and the Namibplaas Uranium Project under mining licence 3638 in the Erongo region of Namibia. Valencia is a subsidiary of the Canadian company Forsys Metals, which contracted Ausenco Limited in 2022 to review the 2015 Norasa definitive feasibility study. The Ausenco report identified several aspects and recommendations for technical optimisation and cost-saving opportunities compared to the original DFS. Valencia Uranium has appointed DRA Mineral Projects Pty Ltd as the engineering consulting company to conduct the trade-off studies.  DRA Mineral Projects will review test work information to confirm optimal grind size considering uranium recovery, costs, materials handling and tailings handling.  It will also loo

Headspring Investments has dragged the agriculture ministry to court for refusal to grant a uranium drilling permit in the Omaheke region. The High Court will hear the status of the case on March 16. The company is a subsidiary of Uranium One, the international mining division of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. Uranium One applied for licencing in 2017 after Namibia lifted the moratorium on issuing of new uranium licences for exploration and mining. In Sept. 2022, the mines ministry, through the mining commissioner's office, gave Headspring Investments the go-ahead to start its drilling programme by granting an environmental clearance certificate. The agriculture ministry, however, told Headspring Investments in Oct. 2022 that they would not get a permit to drill because of the fear of contaminating the Stampriet aquifer. In its affidavit, Headspring Investments argued that the agriculture ministry did not allow them to make a representation. In addition, Headspring

Deep-South Resources has won its court case against the mines minister Tom Alweendo regarding the Haib copper mine licence renewal. Alweendo had refused to renew the Haib mine licence saying Deep South had failed to advance the claim to pre-feasibility and complete the proposed drilling program as planned. Deep-South maintained that the ministry was well apprised, with no objection on their part, of a proposed change from the pre-feasibility study to an upgraded preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and commencement of a complete feasibility study.  The High Court ruled on March 10 set aside Alweendo's decision not to renew the Haib Copper mine's exclusive prospecting licence 3140. One of the reasons the High Court gave is that the facts presented by Deep-South's subsidiary - Haib Minerals - should not have been ignored in the evaluation process. The other reason is that Alweendo and the mining commissioner failed to consider Deep-South's huge investments in developing

Gratomic Inc has raised US$6m for general working and operating capital for the Aukam Graphite Project in Namibia. The company announced on March 9 that the money was raised from a second tranche of non-brokered private placement offering of up to 20 million working capital units at US$0,30 each. Gratomic president Arno Brand   said it is a great pleasure to continue participating in the offering alongside shareholders. The Aukam Graphite Project is in southern Namibia, close to the port city of Luderitz. The property hosts five underground adits mined periodically between 1940 and 1974.  Located in Namibia, Africa, this historic mine brought prosperity to the Karas region in previous decades. Its first operational phase began in 1940, and it remained in production for 16 years, ceasing operations in 1956.  The second phase of activity began in 1964, and the mine remained active unit 1974. The Aukam Graphite Project is preparing for phase three of its life, with commercial production a

Askari Metals Limited has commenced the Phase II RC drilling campaign on Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) 7345, part of the Uis Lithium Project, in the Erongo Region of Namibia.  The Phase II RC drilling program commenced on 28 February 2023 and is set to continue for approximately two months, producing at least 4,000 m of chips, samples and data from the project.  This Phase II program aims to test previously untested pegmatites mapped and identified by geologists in the field and which are reported to have visible lithium mineralisation at the surface.  EPL 7345, part of the Uis Lithium Project, is located 3km from the township of Uis within the Erongo Region of west-central Namibia.  The project holds exceptional potential, as identified by the due diligence sample results and the very high number of pegmatites exposed at the surface, ranging from a few meters in width to more than 20m in width.  Many pegmatites have been mined historically for tin and semi-precious stones, and a

ASX-listed Pancontinental Energy announced on March 6 the start of an extensive 3D seismic survey of the Saturn turbite complex in the Orange River Basin offshore Namibia. Under the prospective exploration licence 87, the Saturn turbite complex covers 10,970 sq. km and is on-trend to recent major oil discoveries in Total's Venus-1, Shell's Graff-1 and La Rona-1, and the recent Jonker-1 discovery.  Pancontinental owns 75% of prospective exploration licence 87, Custos Investments (15%) and Namcor (10%).  The Saturn turbite complex may host numerous large internal hydrocarbon traps, some of which have already been mapped on 2D seismic.  In 2018, Pancontinental reported that an independent assessment had concluded that the Saturn turbite complex has multi-billion-barrel potential.  The survey, about 150km offshore, will take approximately three months to complete and cover 6,800 sq. km of the Saturn Complex and its margins.  The 3D results are expected around end-June this year, an

The High Court of Namibia will on March 15 announce the verdict in the case where Deep-South Resources wants mines minister Tom Alweendo's decision not to renew the Haib copper mine exploration and prospecting licence renewed. Alweendo informed Deep-South that he would not renew Deep-South's Haib mine EPL in June 2021. The minister cited Deep-South's inability to advance the licence to pre-feasibility and complete the proposed drilling program as planned.  Deep-South maintains that the ministry was well apprised, with no objection on their part, of a proposed change from the pre-feasibility study to an upgraded preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and commencement of a complete feasibility study.  The company also said the ministry had issued all permits required for the drilling program and is well aware that Deep-South has completed the drilling program. Deep-South wants the High Court to review the minister's decision. The High Court announced in November 2022 that

  Woodside Energy wants to acquire a 56% participating interest in petroleum licence 87 in Block 2713 in the Orange River Basin in Namibia from Sintana Energy. Custos Investments (Pty) Ltd, in which Sintana has an indirect minority interest, will retain the other 15% interest and benefits from this carrier and other elements of related farmout and joint operating agreements. Sintana owns an indirect minority interest in Custos. Prospective exploration licence 87 that covers 10,970 square kilometres, hosts the large Saturn turbidite complex on-trend with the recent major oil discoveries made in the Orange Basin, including Total's Venus-1 discovery and Shell's Graff-1 and La Rona-1 and recent Jonker-1 discoveries have proven a working light oil system offshore Namibia.  Businessman Knowledge Katti is the Sintana Energy and Custos chairperson. Sintana is involved in petroleum and natural gas exploration and development activities in Colombia's Magdalena Basin and five large on

The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, in partnership with Shell and QatarEnergy, announced a light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X deep-water exploration well.  The well was drilled in Block 2913A & 2914B (PEL 0039) in the Orange Basin offshore in southern Namibia.  The drilling operations commenced in December 2022 and were completed safely in early March 2023.  Located approximately 270 kilometres off the coast of Namibia, in the deep water offshore, the Jonker-1X discovery is the third well drilled on the license held by Shell within a year.  The Odfjell Deepsea Bollsta semi-submersible rig drilled the well to a total depth of 6,168 meters in a water depth of 2,210 metres.  The acquired data is currently being evaluated, and further appraisal drilling is planned to determine the discovery's size and recoverable resources potential. “NAMCOR would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our partners Shell (Operator) and QatarEnergy for safely drilling the Jonker-

B2Gold has reported that its Otjikoto Mine in Namibia concluded 2022 with a production of 161,614 ounces of gold, slightly below the revised guidance range of 165,000 to 175,000 ounces. According to B2Gold's fourth quarter and full-year 2022 results, released on February 22, the company initially set a guidance range of 175,000 to 185,000 ounces for its Otjikoto Mine in Namibia.  However, due to a delay at the Wolfshag underground mine, the company revised its guidance to 165,000 to 175,000 ounces. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia produced 60,068 ounces of gold, including a new monthly production record of 30,493 ounces in December 2022. The Otjikoto Mine achieved a mill throughput of 3.41 million tonnes and an average gold recovery rate of 98.5% for the year ended December 31, 2022. B2Gold has provided guidance for its Otjikoto Mine, stating that it expects to produce between 190,000 and 210,000 ounces of gold in the upcoming period.  The company als

  Impact Oil & Gas Limited says it will start drilling four wells off the Namibian coast in the Orange Basin on Block 2913B and 2912 by the end of February. The UK-based company holds a 20% working interest in Block 2913B under petroleum exploration licence 56, operated by TotalEnergies EP Namibia B.V (40%), QatarEnergy (30%) and NAMCOR (10%). It also holds an 18.89% working interest in the adjacent Block 2912 under petroleum exploring licence 91 with TotalEnergies (37.78%), QatarEnergy (28.33%) and NAMCOR (15%). Block 2912B is where TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy announced the Venus well discovery in early 2022. The Venus discovery is a world-class light oil and associated gas field, approximately 290 kilometres off southern Namibia's coast and in a water depth of roughly 3,000 metres.  The well was drilled to a total depth of 6,296 metres by the Maersk Voyager drillship and encountered a high-quality light oil-bearing sandstone reservoir of Lower Cretaceous age. The multi-well

Deep-South Resources says they will only renew the Haib copper mine technical report once the Namibia High Court rules on the mines ministry's refusal to renew the mining licence. According to Deep South, the current technical report filed on Feb. 1, 2021, should not be relied on. The Canadian company dragged the mines minister Tom Alweendo to court after he refused to renew the Haib licence. The high court is expected to make a ruling on Feb. 23. Alweendo refused to renew the Haib licence in June 2021, citing the company’s inability to advance the licence to pre-feasibility and complete the proposed drilling program as planned.  Deep South is supposed to submit a revised technical report as part of the British Columbia Securities Commission's continuous disclosure review. The British Columbia Securities Commission, Deep South said, noted during its recent continuous disclosure audit that the company needed to amend the technical report. "However, as the verdict of the Hig

  Dundee Precious Metals is forecasting to smelt anything between 200 000 and 230 000 of complex concentrate copper at the Tsumeb Smelter per year for the next three years. The Canadian company says this reflects a consistent throughput rate after resolving the water leak issue in the off-gas system by April 2023. Dundee has contracted more than 90% of concentrate feed until the end of 2023. The remaining feed in 2023 and additional feed after that are expected to be contracted in the normal course. Sustaining capital expenditures are expected to be between US$14 million and US$17 million for each of 2023 and 2025. For 2024, capital expenditure is expected to be between US$10 million and US$13 million, reflecting the timing of scheduled maintenance shutdowns based on an expected 18-month operating cycle for the Ausmelt furnace. The company that announced its 2022 Financial Results and Improved Three-Year Outlook says Tsumeb smelted 174 122 tonnes of complex concentrate copper, 6% below

Northern Graphite Corporation, which owns the Okanjande graphite mine in Namibia, has agreed to acquire 50,1% of NeoGraf Solutions. The Canadian-based company announced on Feb. 13 that it had signed the agreement with Edgewater Capital Partners to complete the transaction. According to Northern Graphite, NeoGraf specialises in value-added products manufactured from natural graphite and has a robust intellectual property portfolio and a blue-chip customer base. Cleveland-based Edgewater Capital Partners is a private equity firm that invests in lower middle-market performance materials and service businesses. Sprott Capital Partners LP will act as Northern Graphite’s financial. The agreement gives Northern Graphite an option of six months to acquire an effective 50.1% voting interest and a 33.3% equity interest in NeoGraf. Northern Graphite also has the option to increase its interest up to 100% at a later date, subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement. Northern Graphite said

The ASX-listed lithium miner Lepidico Ltd has updated its ore reserve estimate at its 80% owned Karibib Project in Namibia to a further 1.16 million tonnes (Mt) @ 0.62% lithium oxide (Li2O). The Australian-based company is an innovative developer of sustainable lithium hydroxide and other critical minerals and the global leader in lithium mica processing. Lepidico completed a series of work programs in 2022 at the Helikon 4 pegmatite and over-the-surface stockpiles at the historical Rubicon mine to enable the reclassification of Inferred Resources as Indicated Resources. Of the 1.31M t grading 0.46% Li2O in Indicated Mineral Resource at Helikon 4, just over 62% of the tonnes fall within the current pit design and convert into Probable Ore Reserves.  The company says it will start a resource development drilling program targeting down-dip extensions to the mineralisation and provide geotechnical data to expand the Indicated Resource base and increase conversion to probable reserves. The

Monaco-based Mauritian businessman Jean-Raymond Boulle's company now owns three mining licences in Namibia after buying out DFR Gold. DFR Gold was, until Jan. 27, known as Diamond Fields Resources Inc.  Jean-Raymond Boulle has a 39.1% stake in the TSXV-listed DFR Gold through Spirit Resources SARL. DFR Gold announced on Feb. 8 that they had finally sealed the deal to sell off all its Namibian diamond assets to Jean Boulle Diamond Mines Ltd for cash payment of US$150,000, annual US$100,000 cash payments and a 1% royalty of net sales from the assets. Jean Bulle Diamond Mines now owns mining licence 111, previously under DFR Diamond's Namibian subsidiary Diamond Fields.  Licence 111, which lies within Luderitz Bay between Diaz Point in the south and Marshall Forks in the north, has a 10-year lifespan that ends on Dec. 4 2025. The second diamond asset is licence 139, whose term expires in November 2029. This asset was under DFR Gold's subsidiary, Namibia Diamond Company, in whi

  The updated total mineral resource estimate for Andrada Mining Uis mine in Namibia, including mining depletion, has increased to 81 million tonnes from 72 million tonnes in 2019 . Andrada Mining Limited announced the updated mineral resource for lithium, tin, tantalum and rubidium on Jan. 6. The company, formerly known as Afritin, says an exploration drilling programme to upgrade the resource classification for lithium and tantalum over the V1/V2 deposit to align with the existing classification for tin started in Jan. 2022. According to the results, the average lithium grade has increased to 0.73% from 0.63% declared in 2019. The contained total lithium oxide tonnes have increased by 30% to 587 000 tonnes. This gives a lithium carbonate equivalent of 1.45 million tonnes, with the measured and indicated lithium resources rising by 47% to 38 million tonnes. The average tin grade increased to 0.15% from a previous average of 0.134%, resulting in contained tin metal content of 120 000 t