Roughly 40 kilometres southeast of Windhoek, extending from the Gocheganas hills toward Dordabis, lies a lesser-known belt of copper-stained schists and sheared quartz veins that represent the southeastern margin of the inland copper province.
Though never mined commercially, the Gocheganas–Dordabis Copper Zone remains a consistent feature in Namibia’s geological literature, having been mapped intermittently since the 1950s.
According to Geological Survey Bulletin No. 10 (1976), early geological mapping conducted in 1954 by E. Martin and J. Söhnge of the Geological Survey of South West Africa identified a “copper-stained ridge” on Farm Gocheganas, approximately 35 kilometres southeast of Windhoek.
Field samples from weathered schists returned 0.4 to 0.9 per cent copper, with visible malachite and azurite.
Follow-up reconnaissance between 1968 and 1972 extended the mapping southeast toward Dordabis, where additional outcrops of quartz–mica schist and amphibolite were observed.
These contained sporadic chalcopyrite and secondary copper oxides, suggesting shear-related mineralisation similar to that of the Ongombo and Otjihase deposits.
By 1978, the Geological Survey had completed detailed mapping of the area.
It concluded that copper occurrences at Gocheganas and Dordabis were structurally controlled, occurring along northeast-trending faults linked to the broader Damara deformation zone.
However, no drilling or trenching was carried out due to limited accessibility and low commodity prices at the time.
The Gocheganas–Dordabis copper corridor was first licensed in the 1990s under Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) 2014, and was later transferred to Namibian Copper Holdings (Pty) Ltd in 2008.
The company conducted geochemical soil sampling and magnetic profiling, identifying several weak anomalies along the Dordabis shear.
Between 2019 and 2023, the area was re-evaluated by Private Namibian licence holders, supported by the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s Small-Scale Mining Directorate.
Field sampling during this period confirmed persistent copper staining over a 6-kilometre strike length near Gocheganas Lodge and eastward toward Dordabis.
In 2023, technical notes submitted to the Geological Survey of Namibia by independent consultants reported grab samples averaging 0.6 per cent Cu in weathered schist, with minor gold traces.
These samples were collected along narrow quartz–carbonate veins at the contact between amphibolite and biotite–feldspar gneiss.
The Gocheganas–Dordabis zone is located within the Kuiseb Formation of the Damara Supergroup, a metamorphic terrain characterised by quartz–mica schist, amphibolite, and gneiss. Copper occurs as disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite within sheared zones and along foliation planes.
The mineralisation is associated with hydrothermal alteration, marked by the development of chlorite and carbonate.
Outcrop observations indicate that copper mineralisation follows northeast–southwest shear zones parallel to the Ongombo and Otjihase trends, suggesting a genetic link to the same tectonic event.
Surface mineralisation is typically oxidised, with malachite and azurite replacing sulphides in weathered zones.
As of 2025, the Gocheganas–Dordabis area remains under active prospecting by Namibian-owned exploration companies, with no foreign joint ventures reported.
Work to date includes rock-chip sampling, geological mapping, and small-scale pitting. No drilling has yet been completed, and no resource estimate exists.
The Geological Survey of Namibia classifies the copper occurrences within the Gocheganas–Dordabis zone as “low-grade shear-hosted prospects,” with moderate exploration potential for shallow, vein-style copper systems.
Although small and undeveloped, the Gocheganas–Dordabis zone represents a significant geological transition between the copper-rich Matchless Belt near Windhoek and the granitic terrain towards Dordabis, it preserves the southeastern expression of the Damara orogenic copper system, demonstrating that the mineralisation around Windhoek extends beyond the better-known Otjihase and Ongombo deposits.
These outcrops serve as the last visible record of copper enrichment before the landscape gives way to the Kalahari sands — a reminder that the copper story of Windhoek stretches well beyond the city’s hills.
