Noronex has appointed a drilling contractor to undertake its maiden reverse-circulation drilling programme at the Etango North Uranium Project in central Namibia, marking the first subsurface test of a licence positioned along strike from some of the country’s largest uranium mines.
The ASX-listed explorer said drilling is expected to commence shortly at Etango North, where multiple uranium and thorium targets have been defined through recent geophysical and remote sensing work.
The programme will test a series of high-priority anomalies and interpreted extensions of alaskite-hosted mineralisation identified during a ground spectrometry survey completed in September 2025.
Etango North, held under EPL 6776, lies within Namibia’s hard-rock uranium district, immediately adjacent to Bannerman Energy’s Etango development and close to the operating Rössing and Husab uranium mines.
Bannerman’s Etango project alone hosts a reported resource of about 207 million pounds of U₃O₈, underlining the scale of uranium endowment along this structural corridor.
Noronex said the upcoming drilling will provide the first subsurface test of domal closures and flat-lying alaskite sheets interpreted from recent geophysical data.
Remote sensing lithostratigraphic interpretation completed over the past two months has refined target geometry and confirmed structural and stratigraphic settings considered favourable for uranium mineralisation, particularly at contacts between the Khan, Chuos and Arandis formations.
The drilling campaign is designed as a first-pass test to validate the geological model developed from spectrometry, remote sensing and AI-assisted interpretation.
Targets include U/Th anomalies outlined in the 2025 survey, mapped alaskite bodies confirmed during field traverses, and areas of shallow cover where mineralisation may extend beyond what is currently mapped at surface.
The programme will also test historical anomalous drilling results located immediately adjacent to the licence boundary, where uranium values exceeding 100 parts per million have previously been reported.
Managing director and chief executive officer Victor Rajasooriar said the appointment of the drilling contractor represents a key milestone for the project.
He said the defined targets present a compelling opportunity for a greenfields uranium discovery in one of the world’s premier uranium provinces.
“The appointment of the drilling contractor marks an important milestone as we advance Etango North toward its first drill testing,” Rajasooriar said. “The targets defined from the spectrometry survey and AI-assisted modelling represent a compelling opportunity for a greenfields uranium discovery in one of the world’s leading uranium districts.”
Etango North is a joint venture project in which Noronex can earn up to an 80% interest, subject to exploration expenditure and other conditions outlined in earlier agreements.
The company said work at Etango North will progress in parallel with its copper exploration programmes in Namibia and Botswana.
With drilling expected to begin shortly, Noronex said results from the maiden programme will be critical in determining the scale and continuity of uranium mineralisation at Etango North and in guiding follow-up exploration across the licence.
