One of the longest-running court cases between the mines ministry and Deep South Resources over the renewal of the Haib Copper Mine ended amicably.
The mines ministry renewed the licence on 7 July 2023, after about two years of a court battle.
Deep-South Resources CEO Pierre Leveille welcomed the renewal, saying it was excellent news.
“With the scarcity of major copper developments on the horizon, Haib [holds] promise as a significant undeveloped deposit,” Leveille said soon after the news.
An un-updated pre-feasibility study estimates the Haib copper mine’s annual production at 35,335 tons of copper cathodes and 51,080 tons of copper sulphate.
The same pre-feasibility study puts the Haib copper mine’s life at 24 years.
A day after the licence renewal, Deep South’s shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange climbed by as much as 69% and closed more than 38% higher than the previous trading.
The mines ministry refused to renew the licence in June 2021, when Deep-South was about to complete a 10,000-metre drilling program. It was about to update its resource estimate, which could have cost US$7.1 million. The feasibility study would have cost US$5.4 million, and the pilot plant US$25.5 million.
Deep South had also put in US$2 million in the project to update the preliminary economic assessment and other expenses between April 2017 and April 2021.
The company’s CEO, Pierre Leveille, welcomed the move, saying they were preparing to start working.
“We have begun preparations to commence the work program and resume the project development as soon as possible. The plan and further information will be disclosed to our shareholders in due course,” Leveille said.
Haib Copper Mine History
German prospectors discovered the copper deposit along the Volstruis River at Haib in the late 1800s or early 1900s and mined some tonnes of high-grade copper carbonate ore.
George Swanson was the first small-scale miner to peg a claim at the Haib mine site. During his time, George Swanson sold about 6, 000 metric tons of high-grade copper ore, up to 18%, to the O’okiep Copper Mines at Nababeep in South Africa.
In 1963–64, Falconbridge completed a more detailed exploration programme looking at the higher-grade zones within the Haib deposit.
During 1968–1969, King Resources of South Africa Pty Ltd. conducted a diamond drilling programme with 21 holes totaling 3,485 metres.
During 1972–1975, Rio Tinto Zinc conducted the first extensive and systematic investigation of the Haib deposit. They drilled one 120-diamond drill hole totaling 45,903 metres.
In November 1993, Rand Merchant Bank Ltd. (RMB) of South Africa acquired an option over the Haib property. Venmyn Rand Pty Ltd. produced a study of the project, including a compilation of all the available drill hole and assay records from previous investigations, and set up a computerised drill hole database. No further exploration work was done, and work was terminated in 1995.
In March 1995, Great Fitzroy Mines NL, RMB, and George Swanson signed a Namibian Copper Joint Venture. The joint venture ran into financial difficulties, and work was stopped at the Haib deposit in early 1999.
In 2004, Deep-South Mining Company (Pty) Ltd. (Deep-South) was granted Exclusive Prospecting Licence 3140 over 74,563.0 ha, covering the deposit and a very large surrounding area.
This EPL was subsequently renewed in April 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015, reducing the area to 37,000ha after the 2007 renewal.
How the case played out in 2021-2022
16 June 2021: Deep-South Resources announces that it has received notice from the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia informing them that its application for the renewal of its exclusive prospecting licence 3140 has been denied,,, citing the inability to advance to pre-feasibility and complete the proposed drilling program.
23 June 2021: Deep-South Resources representatives met with Alweendo and mines ministry officials to voice objections to the refusal to renew its Haib Copper license. Alweendo said he would review all the information provided and reconsider his decision, which will be communicated.
Deep-South chairman John Akwenye expressed hope that Alweendo would “reach a positive outcome…”.
24 June 2021: Deep-South Resources announced that Alweendo had refused to renew the licence. The company also said it intended “to vigorously contest this decision by all means necessary and available under the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act and other applicable laws of Namibia.”
21 July 2021: Deep-South Resources announced that its Namibian legal counsel and its subsidiary, Haib Minerals (Pty) Ltd, had filed an application with the High Court of Namibia for an order reviewing Alweendo’s decision to refuse Haib’s licence renewal.
The application also seeks an urgent interdict to prevent the mines from granting a licence over the same area to anyone else.
The affidavit listed Alweendo, the mining commissioner,,,, and Orange River Exploration, the company that had shown interest in the licence since November 2020.
1 September 2021: The High Court of Namibia interdicted the mines ministry from granting a mineral licence, including an exclusive and prospecting licence, in terms of the Minerals Act 1992, to any person or company over the area covered by the Haib Copper project.
The interdict and restraining order were in force until the final determination of the application to the High Court to review Alweendo’s decision not to renew the Haib licence.
24 September 2021: The High Court of Namibia ordered the mines ministry to file the documents supporting Alweendo’s decision to refuse the Haib Copper licence renewal.
The court gave Haib Minerals until October 21, 2021,,, to supplement or amend its documents filed on July July July 20, 2021.
2 November 2021: The High Court of Namibia ordered the mines ministry to complete its filing of the documents supporting Alweendo’s decision to refuse the Haib Copper licence renewal before November November November 11, 2021.
The order was given after the mines ministry submitted incomplete documents on October October October October 21, 2021. The documents did not include any documents directly related to Alweendo’s decision to deny the renewal of the Haib Copper licence.
12 November 2021: The mines ministry’s’s legal counsel requested an additional week to complete the filing of the documents supporting Alweendo’s decision to refuse the Haib Copper licence renewal.
The High Court of Namibia granted the requested time. It gave Deep-South’s legal counsel ten court days to review the documents and decide if Haib Minerals would supplement its affidavit and supporting documents.
Haib Minerals legal counsel requested the court issue an order to facilitate a fair and expeditious determination of the original application to review Alweendo’s decision.
1 December 2021: The mines ministry’s legal counsel proceeded with their last filing on November November November November 17, 2021. The filing did not include any documents supporting Alweendo’s decision to deny the renewal of the Haib Copper licence.
Due to the absence of the judge, Deep-South’s legal counsel and the mines ministry’s’s’s’s legal counsel agreed to request the court issue an order to allow Deep-South to file additional documents to support its original affidavit by December December December December 15, 2021.
The additional documents would include expert advice covering the exploration work carried out by Deep-South on the project and the work program proposed for the renewal of the Haib Copper licence. The documents would also include an update on the funds invested in the project’s’s’s’s’s development.
21 December 2021: Deep-South’s Namibian legal counsel and Haib Minerals amended and supplemented the original application with the High Court for an order that Alweendo grants the renewal of the Haib Copper licence within 30 days of issuing the order.
The mines ministry did not file any documents supporting the process followed by Alweendo, the mining commissioner,,,,, and the relevant officials in in in in in assessing and deliberating on the Haib renewal application for the Haib Copper licence.
24 June 2022: The court ordered the parties to file their case management report by 27 June 2022.
July 5, 2022: The court ordered the following:
Haib Minerals must file its heads of argument 15 days (12 September 2022) before the hearing.
Alweendo and the other respondents must file their heads of argument ten days (19 September 2022) before the hearing.
The indexed and paginated papers and the record must be filed by September 23, 2022. The hearing was set for October 3 and 4, 2022.
4 October 2022
The judge indicated a written judgment would be expected on November November November November November November 18, 2022.
16 November 2022
The High Court of Namibia postponed the verdict to February February February February February 23, 2023. The judge is using the limit of the three months allotted by the rules of the High Court to render his verdict.
21 February 2023
Deep-South Resources Inc. announced that the High Court of Namibia had postponed the publication of the verdict in the case to review the minister’s decision not to renew the Exploration and Prospecting licence to March 15, 2023.
March 10, 2023 The High Court of Namibia rendered judgment, reviewed, and set aside the decision of the minister not to renew the Haib Copper license, EPL 3140. The effect of the order is that the minister must resume the licence renewal application procedure and arrive at a new decision. The court noted that the facts presented by Haib Minerals should not have been ignored in the evaluation process.
The judgment mentions that the minister and mining commissioner did not consider the large investments carried out by Deep South to develop a low-grade deposit. The court also states that the Minister and Mining Commissioner did not consider that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the exploration program. The court also ordered the Ministry to pay the legal costs of Deep-South’s subsidiary, Haib Minerals.
The minister and the mining commissioner have the right to appeal the judgement in the Supreme Court of Namibia. If they decide to appeal, the request shall be filed within 21 court days from the date of the judgement.
Deep-South will now consult its legal advisers to prepare the way forward and pursue the licence renewal procedure. More information about the matter will be disclosed in due course.
April 17, 2023: Deep-South Resources Inc. said Haib Minerals directors met with the mines minister, the mining commissioner,,,,,, and the deputy executive director. The ministry re-opened the application renewal procedure for the Haib Copper licence. The parties agreed that Haib would provide additional information for the work completed between January 2021 and June 2021. The license, EPL 3140,,,,,, was reinstated in the cadastre of the ministry. The ministry’s officials agreed that upon receiving the documents, they would proceed promptly with the application analysis to finalise their decision in a timely fashion.
June 19, 2023: Deep-South Resources Inc. announced that since the verdict ordering the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia to re-open the renewal application procedure for 2021, Haib Copper Licence EPL 3140 has been reinstated by the Ministry with the status “pending renewal.”.
July 10, 2023 Deep-South Resources Inc. announced that the Haib Copper License EPL 3140 had been officially renewed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia on Friday, July 7, 2023, and is valid for two years from the date it was restored.
