Australian-listed Sultan Resources has applied for an additional 171.2 square kilometres of copper-gold exploration ground in Namibia, targeting an underexplored area about 5km south of Kalkfeld.
The company announced on Friday that it had lodged an application for EPL 11820, which it has named the Kaalkop Project, within Namibia’s Central Damara Belt. Sultan expects the licence to be granted during the next quarter.
The application gives Sultan potential exposure to an area containing historical copper, lead and zinc exploration as well as geological structures the company believes could host gold mineralisation.
Sultan said historical exploration within the licence area targeted copper-lead-zinc mineralisation associated with carbonate rocks, while granite-carbonate contacts, deformed metasedimentary sequences and major regional structures have received limited modern exploration.
Historical work was largely confined to rock-chip and stream sampling for copper, lead and zinc associated with carbonate rocks, as well as tin and tungsten associated with pegmatites and skarns. Aquitaine undertook the work in 1975, and B&O Mineral Exploration in 1982.
Despite the earlier base-metals exploration, Sultan said no historical exploration has been reported specifically targeting gold across the proposed 171.2 km² licence.
The company has identified the Abbabis Lineament, a major north-northeast regional structure running through the application area, as one of the features supporting its gold exploration case.
Late-stage granitic intrusions, deformed schists and carbonate units within the area have also been identified as prospective targets, with Sultan planning to focus initial field investigations on granite-carbonate contacts.
The company has linked the project’s potential to recent exploration activity elsewhere in the Damara Belt.
Kaoko Metals reported rock-chip sampling results of up to 4.9% copper at its Karibib Copper-Gold-Tungsten Project in July. However, Sultan cautioned that Karibib represents a separate mineral system and the results are not necessarily indicative of mineralisation at Kaalkop.
Kaalkop also lies east of WIA Gold’s ground hosting the Kokoseb Gold Project, where an updated mineral resource announced in August stands at 113 million tonnes grading 1.0 grams per tonne gold for 3.78 million ounces.
The broader Central Damara region hosts several other gold deposits and discoveries, including Twin Hills, Ondundu, Navachab and Eureka. Sultan said the region’s gold endowment, combined with limited previous exploration at Kaalkop, creates an opportunity for systematic exploration.
Once EPL 11820 is granted, Sultan plans to compile and review historical exploration data before undertaking reconnaissance geological mapping and rock-chip sampling across priority granite-carbonate contact zones.
The company would then use results from the initial programme to plan follow-up soil geochemistry.
The company obtained the opportunity without issuing consideration shares or other equity securities, meaning the application does not result in acquisition-related dilution for existing shareholders.
Kaalkop remains an early-stage exploration project, with EPL 11820 still under application and no mineral resource established on the ground. Sultan said it would update the market as the licence application progresses.
