Private equity-backed Appian Omega Bidco Limited has secured unconditional approval to acquire control of Craton Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd, the company developing Namibia’s Omitiomire Copper Project northeast of Windhoek.
The Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC), under case number 2026FEB0007MER, approved the transaction without conditions, clearing the way for Appian Omega Bidco Ltd to acquire shares in Craton from Omico Copper Limited.
The transaction will result in Appian Bidco establishing direct control over Craton.
Appian Bidco is a United Kingdom-incorporated company that is part of a global mining-focused private equity investment group that invests in mining companies, projects, assets, and management teams.
In Namibia, the Appian group already controls the Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation and Rosh Pinah Solar Park.
Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation owns and operates the Rosh Pinah lead-zinc mine in the Karas Region. In contrast, Rosh Pinah Solar Park operates a solar power facility that serves the mining operation.
The target company, Craton Mining and Exploration, was established to develop the Omitiomire Copper Project located about 140 kilometres northeast of Windhoek.
Although the project has attracted industry interest as a future copper development, it is not yet in production and currently has no market share in any commodity markets.
NaCC classified the deal as a conglomerate merger and said there were no horizontal overlaps or vertical integration concerns between the merging parties’ activities.
“The Commission found the proposed transaction unlikely to result in the prevention or substantial lessening of competition or result in any undertaking to acquire or strengthen a dominant position in the market and did not raise any public interest concerns,” the regulator said.
Because the project remains at the development stage and does not yet produce copper, the commission concluded that it was unnecessary to define a detailed relevant market for the transaction.
The approval strengthens Appian’s growing footprint in Namibia’s mining sector at a time when global demand for copper continues to rise amid the worldwide energy transition, electrification and renewable energy expansion.
The Omitiomire project has long been viewed as one of Namibia’s notable undeveloped copper assets, with renewed investor interest emerging as copper prices and long-term demand forecasts remain supported by electric vehicles, grid infrastructure and clean energy technologies.
