Wia Gold wants to complete the definite feasibility study by mid-2026 and expects the mining licence to be awarded by the second half of 2026 for the Kokoseb project.
An updated mineral resource estimate and the application for a mining licence are due in the third quarter of 2025 after the submission of the scoping study.
The company has increased the number of drilling rigs to three diamond and three reverse circulation rigs for exploration and infill drilling.
This year, Wia Gold will appoint consultants focusing on mine scheduling and design, additional metallurgical test work, environmental studies, hydrology studies, process plant engineering, non-process site infrastructure, tailings disposal, energy and power supply, and capital and operating costs.
Wia Gold plans to add two reverse circulation rigs to the existing one reverse circulation and two diamond drilling rigs.
The company also wants to provide additional resources in the Central, NW, and Northern Zones, plus conversion of inferred to indicated mineral resources.
The Kokoseb Gold Project is in northwest Namibia, approximately 320 km by road from the capital city of Windhoek.
Kokoseb lies within the Okombahe exploration licence, held under a joint venture by Wia (80%) and Epangelo (20%).
The Okombahe licence is part of Wia Gold’s broader Damaran Belt tenure in Namibia, which consists of 12 tenements across a total area of over 2,700 km2.
On 16 April 2024, Wia Gold announced an updated inferred mineral resource estimate of 2.12Moz at 1.0 g/t Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au, including a higher-grade gold portion of 1.53Moz at 1.4 g/t Au using a cut-off grade of 0.8 g/t Au at a discovery cost of less than US$3/oz.
Wia Gold entered a joint venture with Epangelo to acquire the Okombahe exploration licence in June 2019.
The joint venture discovered the Kokoseb project in Q3 2021, with the latest mineral resource estimate from April 2024.
The mineral resource estimate includes higher-grade 1.53 Moz at 1.4 g/t Au (at 0.8 g/t cut-off) from 47 km of drilling.
The project’s discovery and definition cost is only US$2.8/oz, while metallurgical testwork concluded gold recoveries of 92%.
