Botswana’s Department of Mines has granted Noronex two prospecting licences, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometres of previously unexplored terrain.
The tenements, PL0074/2025, measuring 721.87 km2, and PL0075/2025, for 745.40 km2, will be transferred to Noronex’ subsidiary, Tilodi Metals Botswana.
Based on extrapolation, the area is expected to be covered by between 10 and 80 metres of Kalahari sands.
Following environmental approval, an orientation geochemical sampling program will commence directly north of the Thul Prospect, owned by Cobre Ltd, where the cover is expected to be ~20 metres thick.
This area lies within the Kalahari Copper Belt and is interpreted as the D’Kar Formation developed directly on the basin margin.
Most licences cover an area where the magnetic interpretation shows a complex magnetic and gravity signature.
It is unclear what the basement features are geologically in this northern margin of the Kalahari Copper Belt, as no drilling has ever been completed in Botswana.
Current investigations in Botswana have not discovered any historical exploration or geological survey drilling, and there is no geological logging from the very sparse water bore coverage in the licence areas.
The Otjiuapehuri Prospect in Namibia lies directly west of the Namibia-Botswana border, and seven holes were completed by Noronex Ltd this year.
The results are pending.
Noronex chief geologist Bruce Hooper says they applied for the exploration licences in January this year.
“With the potential of the Kalahari Copper Belt strongly endorsed this week by the recently announced BHP earn-in deal with Cobre Ltd, we intend to continue our search on the basin margin for the next major copper discovery in the district—as with our recent drilling at the Damara Project in Namibia.
“We plan to start ground-based exploration work after we get environmental approval for orientation geochemical sampling.
“We are also looking forward to the re-commencement of drilling at the Fiesta Project, where we are optimistic about what the next phase of deeper diamond drilling can deliver,” Hooper says.
