Under the leadership of President and CEO Heye Daun, the Haib Copper Project has undergone a transformative year.
Over the past year, the project has progressed rapidly from potential to performance.
Before Daun’s appointment, the Haib deposit had a long and uneven history. It was first drilled in the 1970s by companies such as Rio Tinto, which recognised its scale but struggled with the low copper grades and lack of processing technology at the time.
Later, Falconbridge and Teck also conducted exploration, with studies and small pilot-scale metallurgical work showing promise but ultimately failing to move the project forward.
Ownership passed through several hands, and while resources were estimated and kept current, development repeatedly stalled.
The deposit remained known as one of the world’s oldest porphyry copper prospects — vast in scale, but viewed as technically challenging and commercially dormant.
The most recent pre-Daun chapter belonged to Deep-South Resources, which acquired control of Haib in 2017. Under CEO Pierre Léveillé, Deep-South advanced drilling campaigns, metallurgical test work, and an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) that confirmed Haib as one of the largest undeveloped porphyry copper deposits in Africa.
However, the company’s momentum was cut short in 2021 when Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy declined to renew its exploration licence, citing slow progress.
Deep-South launched a legal challenge, but the dispute tied up development for several years, leaving Haib at a crossroads despite its vast potential.
After a lengthy battle in Namibia’s High Court, the company eventually secured a legal victory in 2023, with the court setting aside the Ministry’s decision and ordering the licence reinstated.
Despite this outcome, the years lost to litigation had weakened Deep-South financially and eroded investor confidence. The drawn-out case created space for a change in stewardship, paving the way for a reorganisation of ownership and, ultimately, the transition to Koryx Copper under the leadership of Heye Daun.
A large-scale technical program, budgeted at CAD 20 million (about N$270 million), was launched in early 2025. It included an aggressive three-phase drill campaign spanning more than 55,000 meters.
It was backed by doubling the number of drill rigs to fast-track development and define higher-grade portions of what was once a forgotten porphyry deposit. This drilling is supporting upgrades to the mineral resource estimate and informing downstream studies.
Metallurgical testwork also made significant headway. New samples tested from across the mineralisation system confirmed that historical parameters – first trialled decades ago by Rio Tinto, Teck, and Mintek – could be enhanced. Results demonstrated a roughly 89% copper recovery from flotation, yielding clean concentrates with grades of 20–25% Cu. Pre-concentration and heap leach options are currently under evaluation.
Heye Daun said, “We are very pleased with the substantial progress we have made with the met testwork, process flowsheet and infrastructure development aspects of the Haib copper project during the last six months. Results are highly encouraging and are being incorporated in the preliminary economic assessment (PEA), which we are preparing to publish in Q3 2025.”
To drive the project forward, an updated PEA is on track for release in September 2025, followed by an updated mineral resource estimate and deeper technical study by H1 2026. These results will support the conversion of inferred resources to higher‐confidence categories and help secure permitting ahead of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) planned for year-end 2026.
Drilling continues to yield promising results. Recent assays from Phases 2–4 include high-grade intercepts such as 927 m at 0.24% Cu (entire hole), with sub-intercepts of 14 m at 0.58% Cu, 60 m at 0.33%, and 48 m at 0.34% Cu. These results confirm the extension of mineralisation down-dip and laterally into areas previously modelled as waste.
Koryx Copper Inc. has surged into the spotlight by delivering the world’s top copper drill intercept of the week (25–29 August), firmly establishing its Haib Project as one of the most compelling copper stories currently unfolding. At Haib, assays returned 0.24% copper over 927 metres, generating a grade-by-width factor of 222.5. According to the Rock Report, this was the strongest copper intercept globally, ranking Koryx ahead of major peers. By comparison, Arizona Sonoran Copper’s Cactus project in the US delivered 0.41% Cu over 473 metres for a grade-by-width of 193.9. In contrast, AusQuest’s Cangallo project in Peru returned 0.30% Cu across 330 metres (grade-by-width 99.0). Other results included Strickland Metals’ Rogonza project, which logged 0.20% Cu over 309 metres (grade-by-width 61.9).
Koryx’s scale and continuity at Haib place Namibia’s oldest known porphyry copper deposit ahead of these global competitors, underlining the project’s potential as a future world-class copper mine. The exploration success comes as Koryx closes a CAD 25 million (~N$343 million) equity raise, with Namibian institutional investors contributing more than 40%. Proceeds are earmarked for drilling, metallurgical testwork, and infrastructure planning, positioning Haib for a rapid transition from exploration to development. Metallurgical results have already demonstrated an average copper recovery of 89%, producing clean concentrates grading 20–25% Cu. The company is also assessing heap leach recoveries as part of a multi-phase processing plan.
Meanwhile, a 55,000-metre drill campaign supported by up to eight rigs is underway to expand the resource base. The program will inform a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) due in Q3 2025, which will outline Haib’s potential as a long-life, low-cost, large-scale open pit mine. Infrastructure studies suggest the project will require 120 MW of power and 20 million cubic metres of water per year, highlighting its scale.
The project’s development is supported by significant capital. In July 2025, Koryx closed a CAD 25 million (approximately N$338 million) financing round, with over 40% participation from Namibian institutional investors, positioning the company to accelerate technical, permitting, and drilling milestones.
Looking forward, the project is preparing an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), with consultations already underway and a heap-leach circuit in the preliminary design phase.
Koryx’s October 2024 NI 43-101 technical report confirms Haib’s mineral resource is robust, based on nearly 79,000 m of drilling and extensive data validation — underlining its status as one of Africa’s most significant porphyry copper projects. While resource figures were not publicly disclosed in detail, industry benchmarking offers context: world-class deposits such as Pebble in Alaska hold some 37 million tonnes of contained copper, followed by Resolution in Arizona with 27 Mt, KSM in British Columbia at 25 Mt, and Reko Diq in Pakistan also commanding tens of millions of tonnes of copper in resource estimates. These giants dwarf Haib, but they serve as aspirational benchmarks for Koryx as it moves resources toward mineable reserves. Meanwhile, operating giants like Escondida in Chile, with reserves in the tens of millions of tonnes of copper, remain the gold standard of production.
Heye Daun reflects: the Haib Copper Project, once underexplored, is steadily being repositioned as Africa’s next simple, large-scale, low-cost copper mine — with enhanced grade, upgraded mining studies, and a refined development path toward bankability.
The contrast between the Deep-South era and the Daun-led revival is striking. Deep-South made progress in updating studies and confirming Haib’s scale, but its reliance on limited financing, coupled with regulatory disputes, left the project in a state of limbo. Community engagement was minimal, and funding constraints often slowed exploration.
By comparison, Daun’s approach has been decisively aggressive and well-capitalised. Within a year, Koryx doubled its drill rigs, launched a C$20 million (N$270 million) program, and secured a further C$25 million (N$338 million) in financing — with strong local Namibian participation. Unlike previous operators, Daun has emphasised permitting, ESG, and technical integration, with the ESIA process already underway and metallurgical breakthroughs being reported in real-time.
Where Deep-South’s efforts highlighted potential but stalled at the threshold of development, Daun’s tenure has marked a pivot from theory to execution.
The Haib Copper Project has moved from being an underexplored giant into an actively advancing project with a clear path to feasibility, bankability, and eventual production.
