The Aranos Basin’s history of exploration stretches back more than six decades, beginning in the early 1960s when Namibia’s Geological Survey and several regional geologists first recognised the area’s potential for coal within the broader Karoo Supergroup.
These early investigations were largely reconnaissance in nature — mapping outcrops, collecting shallow core samples, and studying the sedimentary layering that characterised the southern interior basins.
By the late 1960s and early 1970s, systematic geological mapping by South West Africa’s Department of Mines had confirmed the presence of multiple coal-bearing horizons in the Ecca Group.
This formation extends across southern Africa and is known for hosting significant coal deposits in Botswana and South Africa.
The Aranos Basin, though less explored, was found to contain seams of bituminous coal with low sulphur and low phosphorus content — a favourable quality for both industrial and energy use.
In the 1980s, several small-scale exploration campaigns followed, supported by the Council for Geoscience (South Africa) and Namibian research institutions.
These early drilling programmes were designed to determine coal seam thickness, continuity, and calorific value.
Results from boreholes around the Aranos area — particularly near Stampriet and Leonardville — confirmed a sequence of coal seams ranging from one to three metres thick, with energy values averaging around 23 to 26 MJ/kg.
However, given Namibia’s reliance on imported electricity and the absence of domestic coal-fired power plants, commercial development did not progress beyond exploration.
Interest in the basin revived in the early 2000s as global energy markets began exploring alternatives to conventional oil and gas.
The discovery of coal-bed methane (CBM) potential in Botswana’s Morupule and Mmashoro basins triggered renewed attention in Namibia’s inland Karoo sub-basins, including Aranos.
Geological similarities suggested that methane might also be present in the Namibian coal seams.
In 2008, a joint venture known as Aranos Gas, comprising Namibian and South African partners, initiated a targeted CBM exploration programme.
The project included seismic surveys, shallow and deep drilling, and gas desorption testing to evaluate methane concentrations and permeability.
Though gas shows were recorded, the wells revealed low pressure and poor permeability, confirming that while the basin was gas-prone, it was not commercially viable under existing recovery technologies.
Despite these setbacks, the exploration provided critical geological data that remains foundational for current resource assessments.
It established that the Aranos coal seams were thermally mature and had undergone sufficient burial to generate methane, while also reaffirming the basin’s substantial coal reserves, estimated at over 370 million tonnes.
By the mid-2010s, with interest in clean energy technologies on the rise, the basin once again drew attention — this time from companies exploring the possibility of converting coal to hydrogen and producing blue hydrogen.
Today, Dealmaker Investments (Pty) Ltd, which is wholly owned by Damara Natural Resources Ltd, holds the only active EPL in the Aranos coalfield.
Its exploration programme seeks not only to verify the historic coal resource but also to assess new applications for Namibia’s inland energy potential — from traditional coal mining to zero-emission hydrogen generation.
However, extracting coal from the Aranos Basin has always presented a complex set of challenges.
The basin’s remote location, about 350 kilometres southeast of Windhoek, lacks the infrastructure needed for bulk mineral transport.
There are no railway connections to coastal export hubs or domestic power stations, and existing roads are gravel, unsuitable for heavy haulage.
The shallow water table and fragile semi-arid ecosystem further complicate large-scale excavation, raising environmental concerns about dust, groundwater impact, and land rehabilitation.
Economically, the high capital investment required to establish a mine, coupled with Namibia’s relatively small energy market, has made traditional coal projects difficult to justify.
Global banks and development financiers have also shifted away from supporting coal ventures, citing their commitments to carbon reduction.
These factors have left the Aranos resource effectively stranded, despite its significant potential.
In essence, the history of exploration in the Aranos Basin reflects Namibia’s broader energy journey — from early geological curiosity in the 1960s, through unfulfilled coal mining ambitions, to today’s vision of integrating fossil-based resources into a cleaner, hydrogen-powered future.
