The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has granted unconditional merger control clearance for Midas Minerals Ltd’s acquisition of the Otavi Copper Project, removing the final regulatory hurdle for the Australian explorer to finalise the transaction.
Completion of the acquisition is expected in November 2025, after which Midas plans to begin drilling in the final quarter of the year.
Managing director Mark Calderwood said the company is securing contractors and preparing to mobilise one reverse circulation (RC) and three diamond rigs to accelerate fieldwork.
The Otavi Copper Project, acquired from major base metals producer Nexa Resources, covers 1,776 square kilometres near the town of Otavi, about 360 kilometres northeast of Windhoek.
The project includes two advanced prospects, T13 and Deblin, and several underexplored targets, with only 36% of the licence area having seen modern exploration.
Historic drilling at Otavi has returned shallow, high-grade intercepts such as 17.2 metres at 7.24% copper and 144.4g/t silver, highlighting strong potential for near-term resource definition.
Midas has also secured an option over the South Otavi Project, 25 kilometres north of the Otjikoto gold mine, where it began a 3,000-metre, 100-hole first-pass drilling programme in September 2025 to test copper and gold anomalies.
Following a recent A$11.5 million capital raising, Midas reported A$15.3 million in cash at the end of September, positioning it to fund its “aggressive exploration programme” across Namibia and its other assets in Australia and Canada.
Calderwood said NaCC approval “enables us to move towards completion” and sets the stage for a rapid start to exploration. “We are locking in drill contractors and arranging dates for rig mobilisation.
The company is looking to deploy one RC and three diamond rigs as soon as possible,” he said.
Midas Minerals, listed on the ASX under the code MM1, focuses on copper and precious metals exploration. Its board and management team have previously advanced several junior explorers into mid-tier success stories on the Australian market.
