Australian explorer Kaoko Metals has launched an Initial Public Offering to raise between A$5.5 million and A$6.5 million (approximately N$66 million to N$78 million) to fund copper exploration projects in Namibia, with the company targeting a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange on 21 April 2026.
The Perth-based company plans to use the IPO to advance a portfolio of copper-focused exploration assets in Namibia, particularly within the Kaoko Copper Belt in the country’s north and the Damara Belt in central Namibia.
Both regions are considered prospective for sediment-hosted copper deposits but remain relatively underexplored by modern exploration techniques.
The company’s prospectus, lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 23 February 2026, outlines plans to begin drilling soon after listing, with exploration programmes expected to start immediately following the completion of the capital raise.
Kaoko Metals is positioning itself as an early entrant into what it describes as an emerging copper frontier in Namibia.
Managing director and chief executive Gerard O’Donovan said the company had assembled a portfolio of projects with strong surface mineralisation and multiple drill-ready targets.
“While Africa is best known for the Central African and Kalahari Copper Belts, Namibia also hosts the lesser known but equally prospective Kaoko Copper Belt in the country’s north,” O’Donovan said.
“The Kaoko Copper Belt shares many geological similarities with the world-class Central African Copper Belt, which has produced over five billion tonnes of ore with high grades.
Despite its prospectivity for large-scale sediment-hosted copper deposits, the Kaoko Belt has had a fraction of the exploration. It is the least explored of all the major African copper belts.”
He added that the IPO would give investors exposure to what the company believes could become a new copper discovery district.
“Kaoko Metals will provide investors with a fantastic entry-level opportunity to this region through two high-quality projects with outcropping mineralisation and multiple drill-ready targets,” O’Donovan said.
The company’s flagship project is the Chalkos Copper-Silver Project, located within the Kaoko Copper Belt. Exploration work has identified surface mineralisation along an approximately 40-kilometre mineralised trend, with rock chip samples returning grades of up to 69.6% copper and 2,030 grams per tonne silver.
According to the prospectus, the project is situated in a geological environment comparable to the Central African Copper Belt, one of the world’s most productive copper provinces.
The company said the Chalkos project shows favourable mineralogy, including chalcocite and bornite at the surface, and early metallurgical test work has indicated copper recoveries of up to 89%.
The project is fully permitted for drilling, with exploration programmes planned shortly after the IPO.
Kaoko Metals’ second key asset is the Karibib Copper-Gold-Tungsten Project in Namibia’s Damara Belt, an area that has recently attracted growing exploration interest.
Previous drilling at Karibib intersected 4 metres grading 1.98% copper, 0.92 grams per tonne gold and 0.72% tungsten, while surface sampling returned rock chip grades of up to 28.4% copper, 453 grams per tonne silver and 26.3 grams per tonne gold.
The project lies within a large 20-kilometre structural corridor and benefits from established infrastructure in Namibia’s Erongo region.
It is also located within the same geological belt that hosts several major discoveries, including the Navachab Gold Mine, the Twin Hills Gold Project, and the Kokoseb Gold Project.
Under a staged earn-in agreement, Kaoko Metals has the right to earn up to 85% ownership of the Karibib project through exploration expenditure and milestone payments.
The company said funds raised through the IPO would be directed toward drilling campaigns at both Chalkos and Karibib, as well as geophysical surveys, geological mapping, geochemical sampling and metallurgical studies.
Kaoko Metals is chaired by Mark Thompson, founder and managing director of Talga Group, and the board includes executives with experience in African exploration and mining company listings.
The IPO comes at a time when global copper markets are facing tightening supply conditions.
Industry forecasts cited in the company’s prospectus suggest that copper demand linked to electrification, renewable energy infrastructure and electric vehicles could lead to a global supply deficit of around 10 million tonnes by 2040 without major discoveries.
Namibia has increasingly attracted exploration interest as companies search for new copper provinces.
The country is widely regarded as a mining-friendly jurisdiction with established legislation, skilled mining labour, and logistics infrastructure anchored by the port of Walvis Bay.
Kaoko Metals said the exploration programmes planned after listing are aimed at identifying sediment-hosted copper deposits similar to those found in the world’s major copper belts.
If the IPO proceeds according to schedule, the company expects to issue shares on 9 April 2026, dispatch holding statements by 13 April, and begin trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on 21 April 2026.
