South32 has agreed to include two recently acquired Botswana tenements into the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) with Noronex as an Exploration Project.
The SAA agreement was signed in July 2024, wherein South32 will earn a 60% interest in Noronex Exploration and Mining Company after paying A$15 million to fund exploration over five years at Noronex’s Humpback-Damara Project.
Noronex acquired the Botswana tenements in March 2025
Botswana’s Department of Mines granted Noronex two prospecting licences, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometres of previously unexplored terrain in March 2025.
The parties have commenced the process of drafting the definitive earn-in and related agreements associated with the Botswana Tenements.
Under the existing Humpback-Damara Project Earn-In Agreement and the potential earn-in agreement in respect of the Botswana Tenements, A$1 million is expected to be committed at the commencement of each quarter for Noronex to drill, manage, and explore across its highly prospective position in the Kalahari Copper Belt in FY26.
Representatives from Noronex and South32 recently visited the Botswana Tenement package to assess its exploration potential and conduct technical due diligence.
The review of available geological data, the Damara drilling results, and a broader appreciation of the geological landscape have led to the Botswana Tenements being designated as an Exploration Project and South32 exercising its Earn-In right under the SAA.
Meanwhile, the northern margin of the Kalahari Copper Belt in Namibia is covered by shallow Kalahari sands, with the 7-hole program being the first-ever drilling program undertaken in this terrane.
The interpretation of the results highlights significant geological similarities with the basement-hosted deposits in the Central African Copper Belt, located in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Funded by the South32 earn-in agreement in respect of the Humpback-Damara Project, the diamond drilling program continues at the Fiesta Project, located in the west of the Humpback tenements.
The Fiesta Project lies on the western closure of a domal structure at the prospective NPF-D’Kar contact.
The anomalous intercepts appear to have many hallmarks of the deposits defined in Botswana over 400km to the east, including the Khoemacau Copper Project (370Mt @ 1.7% CuEq, MMG).
Two holes have been completed to date, with slower-than-expected progress due to weather, rig breakdowns and water losses. Two additional diamond drill holes are currently planned in the immediate area.
Upon completion, the drill rig will then move to a newly granted tenement, EPL 9876, located to the south of Fiesta, to test further priority targets.
