Noronex Limited has reported encouraging early results from its major drilling campaign at the Powerline Copper Project in eastern Namibia, where the company is testing large domal structures along the northern edge of the Kalahari Copper Belt.
The 7,000-metre reverse circulation programme, funded through an earn-in agreement with a South32 subsidiary, is already halfway complete, with about 3,500 metres drilled across the Steenbok and Qembo Domes since the campaign began in September.
Initial assays from the Steenbok Dome have confirmed the potential of the targeted D’Kar–Ngwako Pan Formation (NPF) contact — the geological horizon that hosts some of the region’s best-known copper-silver deposits.
Drillhole 25SBRC001, positioned at the Steenbok fold closure, cut a nine-metre zone grading 0.45 per cent copper and 43 grams per tonne silver from a depth of 294 metres.
The mineralisation, dominated by fine-grained chalcocite, appears to sit near the hinge of an anticline, a structural position favourable for fluid pathways and metal deposition.
Although two follow-up holes on the same structure did not intersect the mineralised horizon, the company says those holes were crucial in refining the geometry of the dome.
Down-hole televiewer data showed that both 25SBRC002 and 25SBRC003 remained within the steep hanging wall of the fold, missing the contact horizon entirely.
The insights gained have allowed geologists to tighten their structural model, improve target positioning and plan the next hole — SBRCE — roughly 200 metres southwest of the initial intercept.
Drilling has also moved to the northern limb of the Qembo Dome, although the first two holes there did not return significant mineralisation.
Noronex says Qembo remains an early-stage target within a larger structural system and that the broader Powerline area contains multiple untested anomalies interpreted from aeromagnetic and historical ground surveys.
Managing director and CEO Victor Rajasooriar described the early success at Steenbok as a validation of the company’s exploration strategy.
He said intersecting mineralisation in the very first hole drilled into such an extensive domal system was a significant technical milestone and a positive sign for the months ahead.
He added that the programme will run into the first quarter of next year, with a planned break over the festive season, and will generate a steady news flow as results come to hand.
The Powerline Copper Project is situated within EPL 9552, part of a cluster of tenements that Noronex has mapped as highly prospective for sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits.
The company’s target model mirrors those seen elsewhere in the Kalahari Copper Belt, where deposits tend to form along folded contacts between the D’Kar and NPF units.
The region continues to attract international attention, with majors and juniors alike chasing Botswana-style discoveries on the Namibian side of the frontier.
Noronex plans additional step-out drilling around the first intercept to determine the thickness, continuity and grade potential of the mineralised horizon.
If follow-up holes confirm lateral extensions, Steenbok could emerge as a key prospect within the growing Powerline Project.
