Ten drill rigs will turn at Koryx Copper’s Haib Project in southern Namibia beginning October 1.
Koryx Copper chief operating officer Trevor Faber confirmed this to Stockhouse/Red Cloud platform.
“We’ve been running with six rigs for the past year, drilling 21,000 metres, which will get to 32,000 metres by year-end. With the additional rigs, the total program has been upsized to 75,000 metres,” Faber said.
When combined with the 80,000 metres drilled before Koryx’s involvement, Haib’s mineral resource estimate will be informed by about 150,000 metres of drilling.
“It will be extensively drilled. Our geologists have done an incredible job in identifying higher-grade zones, and we’re confident that both the grade and tonnage will improve,” Faber explained.
The Haib deposit already contains 2.6 million tonnes of copper in the ground.
A new Preliminary Economic Assessment released in September outlined a 28-million-tonne-per-year operation over a 23-year mine life, producing 90,000 tonnes of copper concentrate annually.
“Anywhere in the world, that’s a very large copper project. And it’s not controlled by a major—it’s 100 percent owned by Koryx Copper,” Faber said.
He added that Koryx is targeting 2027 to have Haib construction ready.
“We’ve already started the licensing process. We’ve submitted a mining licence application and we have started the process for environmental clearance. In our experience, that takes about 12 to 18 months in Namibia,” Faber further said.
Engineering work for the prefeasibility study has been released to consultants, and an updated study is scheduled for late 2026.
Earlier this year, Koryx raised US$25 million to advance the project.
“We’ve been fortunate to have incredibly supportive shareholders. They understand the challenges that a junior miner faces, and they’ve rewarded us by giving us the capital to take Haib through to the PFS stage. These are blue-chip individuals with patient capital, willing to back a management team that knows what it wants to do and when it wants to do it,” Faber noted.
Asked to summarise the investment case, Faber pointed to five factors.
“First and foremost is the asset itself—the quality and the size of Haib. There are not many projects like this available anywhere in the world.
“The second is the management team. This is a group with 15 years of multiple exits in Namibia, and that experience is crucial for delivering value. The third is jurisdiction. Namibia is an incredible place to operate—politically stable, with strong infrastructure, roads, ports, power and water,” he said.
Faber also pointed to Koryx’s valuation.
“We believe we are trading at a significant discount compared to our peers. That provides shareholders with downside protection and the potential for a rerating.
“We’re drilling not only in and around our main pit, but also in satellite areas that show real potential. Over the next two years we expect to bring some of those additional resources into play,” he explained.
Faber said with 10 rigs drilling, licensing underway, and funding secured, Koryx Copper’s focus is to move Haib from today’s resource growth phase into construction readiness.
“By 2027 we want to be in a position where Haib is fully construction-ready and able to deliver 90,000 tonnes of copper per year into a market that badly needs new supply,” Faber said.
Source: Interview with Trevor Faber on [Stockhouse/Red Cloud platform]
