Australian-listed Cazaly Resources Limited has secured an exclusive prospecting licence for the Abenab North project in northern Namibia, expanding its footprint in the highly prospective Otavi Fold Belt, part of the Pan-African Damara Copper Belt.
The project is between Tsumeb and Grootfontein.
It sits within a geological setting that hosts significant carbonate-hosted copper and base-metal deposits, as well as rare-earth element (REE) mineralisation.
Managing director Tara French described the licence grant as a strong addition to the company’s diversified portfolio.
“This is a fantastic addition to our diversified portfolio. The project is highly prospective for copper and base metals, with proven REE mineralisation.
“We believe the project hosts significant potential for discoveries, with several untested magnetic anomalies located within the licence area,” French said.
Abenab North lies approximately 20 kilometres east of the historic Tsumeb Copper Mine, which produced around 30 million tonnes grading 4.3% copper, 3.5% zinc and 10% lead over more than 90 years before closing in 1996.
The Tsumeb deposit was also enriched with arsenic, antimony, silver, cadmium and gold, and became globally known for its germanium-bearing ores.
The adjacent smelter, now owned by Sinomine Resource Group, remains one of the few facilities globally capable of treating complex copper concentrates.
Midas Minerals Ltd, which holds ground in the district, recently reported high-grade sediment-hosted copper intercepts at its Otavi Copper Project, reinforcing the region’s ongoing prospectivity.
Historical exploration at Abenab North has already confirmed the presence of carbonatite bodies, which are often associated with rare earth mineralisation.
Drilling undertaken by Kudu Minerals in 2004 intersected 45 metres of REE enrichment in carbonatite material in hole B6, averaging 0.68% combined cerium, lanthanum and neodymium oxides from 55 metres to 100 metres. Within that interval, a four-metre zone returned 2.36%.
Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) values were reported at 0.73% over 45 metres and 2.53% over four metres.
Further drilling by Avonlea Minerals in 2010 targeted Anomaly 10 and intersected fresh carbonatite, returning results including 16.7 metres at 0.66% TREO and 39.7 metres at 0.55% TREO, with higher-grade sub-intervals exceeding 1% TREO.
Cazaly has since reprocessed regional aeromagnetic data over the project area, identifying a large 800-metre-diameter magnetic high known as the Cadix anomaly.
According to the company, previous exploration focused on smaller magnetic targets, leaving several larger anomalies untested.
The company is assessing additional geophysical work, including magnetic inversions, to define drill targets better.
Access arrangements are being finalised, with ground activities planned for the coming quarter.
Abenab North adds to the growing pipeline of copper and critical minerals exploration projects within Namibia’s northern carbonate platform.
