Elevate Uranium is extending its Namibian footprint with a fresh application for environmental clearance on new exploration licence EPL 9657, known as Koppies West. The tenement lies inside the Namib-Naukluft National Park, about 80 kilometres northeast of Walvis Bay off the C14, and is held via Elevate’s local subsidiary, Marenica Ventures (Pty) Ltd.
The clearance application covers early-stage work related to nuclear fuel exploration.
The programme would begin with desktop studies and field reconnaissance, and—if results justify—progress to geological mapping, geochemical sampling, ground and airborne geophysics, and drilling using RAB, RC or diamond-core methods.
Koppies West sits alongside Elevate’s emerging Koppies project.
It is intended to test additional ground along the same arid-zone drainage system that hosts calcrete-style uranium mineralisation elsewhere in the Namib.
Work in this terrain typically proceeds in steps: define buried palaeochannels and redox fronts with geophysics and surface sampling, then test them with short holes to establish grade, thickness and continuity.
On ownership and partnerships, EPL 9657 is operated by Marenica Ventures (Pty) Ltd on behalf of Elevate Uranium Ltd (ASX: EL8), the ultimate parent company. Across Namibia, Elevate’s exploration licences are held through its Namibian subsidiaries, with Elevate as the project operator.
Where required, licences include participation by Namibian empowerment partners consistent with local policy and practice; Elevate retains operatorship and technical control.
Day-to-day partnerships also extend to local contractors for drilling, geophysics, and logistics, as well as structured engagement with regional authorities, landholders, and conservancies throughout the environmental clearance process.
The new application adds to one of the most prominent uranium-focused exploration positions in the country.
In the coastal Namib area, Elevate holds Koppies, Namib IV and Hirabeb—covering broad swathes of prospective desert south and east of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. Koppies has been the near-term focus, with successive campaigns refining targets and confirming the presence of near-surface uranium in calcrete horizons.
Namib IV and Hirabeb are conducting up- and down-drainage studies of known mineralised trends and are advancing through geophysics and surface work to prioritise drill fences.
Further inland in Central Erongo, Elevate controls the Marenica and Capri licences.
Marenica is a long-standing project area where historic work outlined substantial calcrete-hosted uranium over a wide footprint, while Capri provides added coverage across the same regional drainage architecture.
Together, these Namib Area and Central Erongo holdings provide Elevate with a contiguous platform from the coast to the interior, allowing for the flexibility to move rigs between priority targets as access, seasons, and results dictate.
Operationally, the company’s approach in Namibia has been to run broad airborne surveys and ground electromagnetic methods to map conductive palaeochannels beneath shallow cover, then apply tight, shallow drilling to vector into the strongest zones.
Each phase is conducted under an approved Environmental and Social Management Plan, once the Environmental Clearance Certificate has been granted, with stakeholder engagement and reporting embedded throughout.
By adding Koppies West to its existing slate of Koppies, Namib IV, Hirabeb, Marenica and Capri, Elevate Uranium is consolidating ground over Namibia’s most prospective calcrete systems.
The thesis is straightforward: build critical mass along the palaeochannels known to host uranium, sequence targets in a disciplined way, and convert the best of them into delineated resources capable of supporting future development—delivering that work through locally registered subsidiaries, empowerment participation where applicable, and a network of Namibian technical and community partners.
Elevate Uranium is also widely viewed as one of the Namibian explorers most likely to bring a new uranium mine into production before 2030, subject to permitting, financing and market conditions.
