Koryx Copper expects to release a pre-feasibility study for its Haib copper project in southern Namibia around November after completing about 48,000 metres of drilling ahead of the study’s resource cut-off.
The company’s senior geologist, Russell Cranswick
said Koryx had initially targeted 50,000m of drilling by late July but ultimately completed about 48,000m as it sought to convert a substantial portion of Haib’s Inferred Mineral Resource into the higher-confidence Indicated category.
At the peak of the programme, Koryx had 15 drill rigs operating at Haib, seven of which were working double shifts.
“Our target was to drill 50,000 metres by late July this year. And we got pretty close to that. I think we ended up hitting 48,000,” Cranswick said in an interview with VSA Capital.
“We really went in for the kill. We want to convert as much of our inferred into indicated category.”
The drilling campaign is feeding into the PFS, which is expected to provide a clearer assessment of the capital requirements, mine configuration and economics of developing the large, relatively low-grade copper deposit near Namibia’s border with South Africa.
Cranswick said it scaled back drilling after the study’s data cut-off, while the company processes assays and prepares the technical work required for the PFS.
“We expect to release the PFS sort of in November, if I’m not mistaken,” he said.
Haib already contains more than two million tonnes of contained copper in the Indicated category, according to figures cited by Cranswick from Koryx’s March preliminary economic assessment, with another approximately 1.4 million tonnes contained in the Inferred category.
The PFS will follow one of the most intensive drilling campaigns undertaken at the project as Koryx attempts to improve confidence in the resource and establish the technical and economic parameters for a possible mine.
Haib is an ancient porphyry copper system located in the //Karas Region, close to the Orange River.
Cranswick described the deposit as approximately 1.88 billion years old, with disseminated copper mineralisation associated with granitoid intrusions.
Its scale has long been recognised, but relatively low copper grades, difficult terrain, and the capital required for a large operation have historically complicated development.
Koryx is now revisiting the project against a different copper market and using modern mining, processing and exploration techniques to determine whether Haib can support a commercial operation.
The company’s March PEA provided the basis for the latest phase of work, while the ongoing PFS is intended to move the project to a more advanced level of engineering and economic assessment.
Capital cost is emerging as a central issue.
During the interview, VSA Capital suggested the complete project could require more than US$1 billion to develop.
Cranswick did not provide a company capital estimate, instead pointing to the engineering work underway to determine how the project could be developed economically.
Koryx is also examining water infrastructure because Haib lies about eight kilometres north of the Orange River, an important water source for downstream agricultural and other users.
Cranswick said current engineering studies envisage a water-storage dam that would be filled by pumping during periods of high river flow.
“We’ll have a water storage dam that will only pump during high flow periods,” he said, adding that the company was conscious of concerns from farmers and downstream water users.
Exploration is not expected to stop with the PFS resource.
Koryx plans to drill deeper in selected parts of Haib where mineralisation appears to continue at depth and test its lateral continuity.
The company also intends to return to regional exploration targets along strike from the main deposit, including geochemical anomalies and areas where previous operators carried out limited drilling.
“We wanted to drill quite a bit deeper in certain areas where the mineralisation appears to extend to depth and test the lateral continuity of that,” Cranswick said.
Regional exploration will also follow up geochemical anomalies and sparse historical drilling to determine whether additional mineralisation exists beyond the areas that have received most of Koryx’s recent drilling.
The immediate milestone, however, is the PFS, expected to be released around November and to provide the next indication of whether Koryx can translate Haib’s large copper inventory and extensive drilling programme into a viable development plan.
