Noronex frames the Powerline 7,000 drill program within the Witvlei assets as the potential step toward proving something of commercial scale in the Kalahari Copper Belt.
Over the past several years, the company has drilled more than 180,000 metres across its Namibian acreage, returning a series of anomalous copper-silver intersections but no defined resource.
Among the best results so far are 15 metres at 0.46% copper and 62 g/t silver from 150 metres at Qembo Dome and 16.8 metres at 0.33% copper and 38 g/t silver from 268 metres at Zambindo Dome.
These intercepts suggest an extensive mineralised system, yet nothing definitive has been established to date.
The newly launched 7,000-metre reverse circulation (RC) campaign at the Powerline Project, located on the northern edge of the belt, is designed to build on this groundwork.
Although Noronex has not disclosed the program’s specific cost, it is fully funded through the company’s earn-in partnership with South32, which provides up to US$20 million (approximately N$370 million) in exploration financing over five years.
Drilling will commence at the Steenbok target, testing magnetic anomalies mapped in aeromagnetic surveys and focusing on fold closures of antiformal domes where the critical NPF–D’Kar contact is predicted to occur.
This stratigraphic horizon is the proven host of major copper deposits across the region, including Botswana’s Zone 5 (168 Mt at 2.1% Cu and 11 g/t Ag) and Banana Zone (150 Mt at 0.93% Cu and 12 g/t Ag).
Chief executive officer Victor Rajasooriar called the new campaign a turning point.
“This drilling campaign is designed to test magnetic anomalies beneath the cover, aiming both to resolve key geological questions and to define the copper-host horizon better.
“At the same time, the drilling offers the potential for new discoveries, which will help refine and enhance future exploration targeting and definition,” he said.
The Powerline licences stretch across more than 180 kilometres of prospective ground, and drilling will be carried out at two-kilometre intervals along this horizon to identify deposits comparable in scale to the world-class systems already defined across the border in Botswana.
Noronex believes the Powerline program could establish the project as a cornerstone of its Namibian portfolio. With South32’s financial and technical backing, the company is positioned to sustain the program through FY26 in the hope of turning years of anomalous results into a defined copper-silver resource.
Noronex’s Namibian portfolio is organised into the Witvlei and Dordabis packages.
The Witvlei package, anchored by EPL 7028, hosts prospects such as Powerline, Okasewa and Otjihase-style domes, all situated along the NPF–D’Kar contact and historically mined for copper on a small scale.
The Dordabis package, centred on EPL 7027, includes targets like Omaueb, Christiadore, and the Kameel Dome, though this ground was subsequently sold as part of Noronex’s asset rationalisation strategy.
Together with the Fiesta (EPL 5880) and Damara (EPL 7029) projects, and the Okavango (PL 386/2018) and Ngami (PL 387/2018) licences in Botswana, these holdings give Noronex a commanding footprint across one of the world’s most promising emerging copper provinces.
Noronex acquired the DorWit (Dordabis–Witvlei) copper project in November 2020 through an earn-in agreement with White Metals Resources Corp. (now operating as Thunder Gold Corp.).
The acquisition gave Noronex access to a package of Namibian exploration licences, including EPL 7028 and EPL 7029 at Witvlei, and EPL 7030 at Dordabis.
In February 2024, Noronex, via its JV vehicle Aloe Investments 237, agreed to sell the Dordabis licence (EPL 7030) to Umino (Pty) Ltd for about A$1.2 million (≈US$800,000), while separately acquiring Thunder Gold’s remaining 25% Dor-Wit interest in exchange for 5.5 million Noronex shares and a US$1 million deferred payment at BFS; Thunder Gold also retained a right to 25% of any net proceeds from the Dordabis sale if completed within six months.
In April 2024, Noronex strengthened its position by increasing its stake in the Witvlei joint venture property via its subsidiary Larchmont Investments.
