Craton Mining and Exploration plans an open-pit operation at the Omitiomire Copper Project on ML 197 in central Namibia, a large copper deposit lying about 140 km northeast of Windhoek by road and approximately 39 km south of Hochfeld in the Khomas Region.
The Omitiomire copper deposit was first identified in the early 1970s by Dr J.S. Greeff of the Geological Survey of South West Africa and was later explored through trenching and drilling with Anglovaal (Pty) Ltd before being taken over by Craton Mining and its partners in the 2000s, laying the foundation for today’s resource and development work.
Craton Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd, the Namibian entity holding Mining Licence 197 (ML 197) and the Exclusive Prospecting Licence EPL 8550, is the proponent of the project.
These licences, together covering roughly 304 km², make up the broader Omitiomire licence area and underpin the company’s development strategy.
The ownership of the project sits within a joint-venture and subsidiary structure.
Omico Copper Ltd. holds a controlling interest, with Greenstone Resources LP (53.7%) and International Base Metals Ltd (46.3%) owning Omico and managing the development.
Omico’s Namibian subsidiary, Craton Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd, holds ML 197 and EPL 8550.
A small 5% interest is held by a Namibian-incorporated community trust (Craton Foundation Trust), reflecting local participation arrangements.
The Omitiomire deposit itself has a historical exploration lineage dating back to the early 1990s, with initial discovery work conducted by major explorers.
In the late 2000s, International Base Metals Ltd (IBML) acquired Craton and invested in extensive exploration, including more than US$15 million of drilling and data buildup, defining the robust geology that underpins the current project.
Exploration undertaken since 2007 has identified a substantial copper resource estimated at 137 million tonnes grading 0.55% copper, with the majority in the form of copper sulphides containing high copper and low sulphur content.
Near-surface oxidation along fractures and fault lines produces an oxide component estimated at 15% of the overall deposit, totalling about 427,000 tonnes grading 0.93% copper — the portion targeted for early mining.
The proposed mine design — as documented in the Environmental Compliance Consultancy (ECC) Environmental and Social Management Plan submitted for approval — centres on a single opencast pit supported by processing infrastructure including heap leach pads, waste rock dumps, tailings deposition facilities, water management systems, and support services and workshops.
Extraction is expected to involve approximately 6.8 million tonnes of ore over the life of the open pit, which is planned to reach about 250 metres in depth, with associated road and river diversions required to accommodate the expanded footprint.
To meet Namibia’s environmental regulatory requirements, Environmental Compliance Consultancy (Pty) Ltd (ECC) was appointed as the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to prepare the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and the supporting Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the project.
This work serves as the basis for the Environmental Clearance Certificate process, which must be completed before construction and operation may occur under the Environmental Management Act.
The Omitiomire Copper Project thus combines deep historical exploration with a modern development and permitting programme, anchored in a formal licence framework and backed by multi-national investment and local participation.
While the ECC documentation does not itself discuss production start-up dates, it confirms the project’s status as approved for environmental impact assessment and positioned for next-stage mine development once statutory ecological clearance is granted and financing is secured.
