There is renewed interest in the Otavi Mountain Land, where international companies are flocking to lay mineral claims.
The Otavi Mountain Land (also known as the Otavi Triangle), the Zambian Copper Belt, and the Kalahari Copper Belt belong to the mineral-rich Damaran Mobile Belt.
The Damaran Mobile Belt starts from the Atlantic coast and cuts across central Namibia through northern Botswana into Zambia and then the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Frank Melcher, the chairperson of Geology and Economic Geology at the Austrian Montanuniversität Leoben University, says there could be as many as 600 occurrences of copper, lead carbonate, zinc and vanadium on the Otavi Mountain Land.
Melcher groups the minerals into four categories – Berg Aukas, comprising zinc and lead; the Tsumeb-type with lead, copper and zinc; and the Abenab-type with vanadium deposits.
The fourth category is the Tschudi-type, which has low-grade copper ore in sandstone.
The Otavi Mountain Land hosts Tsumeb Mine and Smelter with 25 million tonnes at 5% copper, Kombat Mine with 12 million tonnes at 3% copper, Berg Aukas with three million tonnes at 17% zinc, and Abenab with two million tonnes at 1% vanadium.
Past mining activities created towns such as Otavi, Grootfontein and Tsumeb – the Otavi Triangle or copper triangle.
One of the first mining companies to work the mountains was the German company, the Otavi Minen-und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft.
The company started constructing a railway line in 1903 and stopped when war broke out with the Hereros.
The railway was, however, completed in 1906 to carry copper to Walvis Bay for onward shipping.
Today, the Otavi town is home to 4000 people who survive on two grocery stores, two banks, two gas stations and a few businesses.
Much of the mining activities have moved to Tsumeb and Grootfontein.
However, international mining companies have recently returned to revive exploration activities.
One of the world’s top five zinc producers, Nexa Resources of Brazil, is a company targeting high-grade copper deposits in the Otavi Mountain Land.
The Canadian company, Cazaly Resources Limited, also announced that it had partnered with previously disadvantaged Namibians for its new application for the Abenab North project in the Otavi mountains.
Another company is Golden Deeps from Australia, exploring and developing copper and vanadium in the Otavi Mountain Land.
Then there is the Australian company Sabre, which owned 80% in 3540 and 70% in 3542 before selling them off in February 2021.
Nexa Resources
Nexa Resources has two projects within the Otavi Mountain Land – the Otavi Project and the Namibia North.
Nexa Resources’ senior vice president in charge of exploration and business development, Jones Belther, recently said his company had made significant progress in drilling at the two projects.
The projects, which measure 172,5 square kilometres, are under two exclusive prospecting licences, 3540 and 3542.
Belther said the drilling programme that started in July had seen Nexa drilling 1 080 metres within six holes, totalling 2 216m, while another 1 450m is planned during the fourth quarter.
Cazaly Resources
The Abenab North Project is in an area comprising the towns of Tsumeb and Grootfontein.
The exploration licence application, EPL 9110 Abenab North, has no competing applications and covers an area of approximately 790 km2.
The project is considered highly prospective for base metal and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation, as evidenced by previous but limited exploration results.
Cazaly Resources managing director Tara French says should the application be successful. The project presents a fantastic opportunity for his company to add value to their portfolio with potential base metal mineralisation and rare early elements mineralised carbonatites.
“Our investigations indicate that previous work focussed more on the Abenab Vanadium Mine located to the south. No further exploration was completed on the carbonatites within the licence application area. I look forward to updating the market with the progress of this application,” French said.
Disadvantaged Namibians hold 5%, while Cazaly Resources’ local subsidiary, Philco One Hundred and Seventy-Three, has 95%.
Cazaly Resources announced on Monday that it had applied for exclusive prospecting licence 9110 to explore base metals used in construction and manufacturing.
The company also wants to explore rare earth elements for making computer memory components, DVDs, rechargeable batteries, cellphones, catalytic converters, magnets, fluorescent lighting, and glass, among other things.
Golden Deeps
Golden Deeps owns the Nosib Block prospect 20 kilometres southwest of Abenab, with a shallow, high-grade, vanadium-copper-lead-silver zone. In addition, Golden Deeps owns the Khusib Springs Mine.
In an announcement on 22 October 2022, Golden Deeps said it focused on exploring and developing high-grade vanadium-zinc-lead at the Abenab Project, where the mineral resource estimate is 2.80Mt.
The company also said it was interested in the high-grade vanadium, copper, lead and silver at the Nosib Block and the Khusib Springs’ high-grade copper-silver deposit.
Khusib Springs is located near the town of Grootfontein in Namibia.
The mine’s closure in 2003 came with the falling copper price coinciding with the depletion of the easily mineable high-grade ore.
Golden Deeps says the Khusib Springs mine is analogous to the Tsumeb mine, which is 40km northwest.
Between 1905 and 1996, the Khusib Springs mine produced 30Mt at 4.3% copper, 10% lead and 3.5% zinc.
From 1996 to 2003, the mine produced 300,000t at 10% copper and 584g/t silver.
