The Twin Hills gold project is on track to become Namibia’s third operating gold mine, with first gold targeted for the first quarter of 2027 — about twelve years after B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine poured its first gold in December 2014.
The project marks another milestone in Namibia’s growing gold industry and reunites a familiar figure: mining engineer and entrepreneur Heye Daun, who co-founded Auryx Gold, the company that developed Otjikoto before its sale to B2Gold, and later established Osino Resources, the developer of Twin Hills.
Twin Hills was discovered in 2019 by Osino’s exploration team under Vice-President of Exploration Dave Underwood and senior geologist Jon Andrew, working under Daun’s strategic guidance.
Their exploration concept targeted concealed gold mineralisation beneath the calcrete plains north of Karibib. Early drilling confirmed a large, continuous mineralised zone that would later evolve into Namibia’s most significant gold discovery in over a decade.
Between 2020 and 2023, the project advanced from exploration to full feasibility. Osino released its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on 12 June 2023, outlining a 13-year open-pit operation based on proven and probable reserves of 64.3 million tonnes at 1.04 g/t gold, for approximately 2.15 million ounces of contained gold.
Using a base gold price of US$1,750/oz, the DFS estimated a pre-tax NPV (5%) of US$742 million, an IRR of 34%, and a payback period of 2.2 years.
The mine will employ conventional open-pit mining and a 5 Mtpa carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant.
Osino has secured key permits, water rights and surface tenure. In October 2023, the company acquired two farms totalling nearly 10,000 hectares to cover the mine’s footprint and infrastructure corridor.
Corporate takeover and Shanjin’s entry
While feasibility work continued, Twin Hills became the focus of competing corporate bids. In December 2023, Dundee Precious Metals announced a friendly C$287 million takeover of Osino, but two months later, China’s Yintai Gold — later renamed Shanjin International Gold — tabled a superior all-cash offer of C$368 million.
Osino’s board accepted the higher offer in February 2024, and the transaction closed on 29 August 2024, giving Shanjin full ownership of Twin Hills and Osino’s Namibian portfolio.
Shanjin International Gold Co. Ltd, headquartered in Beijing and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, operates gold and silver mines in China’s Henan and Inner Mongolia provinces.
The Osino acquisition was its first African transaction and part of a strategy to diversify into stable, mining-friendly jurisdictions.
Shanjin has adopted Osino’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework, committing to low-impact mining methods, renewable energy integration, and transparent community partnerships.
The company has also pledged to maintain Osino’s Namibian management team and ensure local employment and procurement remain central to operations.
Engineering, construction and investment
By mid-2025, Twin Hills had moved into implementation. Lycopodium Limited of Australia was appointed as EPCM contractor under a roughly A$40 million (≈ N$465 million) contract covering detailed engineering, procurement and construction management. Lycopodium had previously led the project’s PEA (2021), PFS (2022) and DFS (2023).
Early works and site preparation began in 2025 after mobilisation of contractors and supply agreements with Metso, which is providing the processing-plant package.
Total capital investment exceeds N$6 billion — an approximate figure making Twin Hills one of Namibia’s largest private-sector investments. During construction, several hundred workers will be employed, with preference given to Namibian contractors.
First gold and national significance
The first gold pour is scheduled for Q1 2027, about twelve years after Otjikoto entered production. When operational, Twin Hills will become Namibia’s third commercial gold mine, joining Navachab (1989) and Otjikoto (2014).
At full throughput, it is expected to produce over 160,000 ounces per year, increasing Namibia’s total annual output to nearly half a million ounces.
Beyond its economic potential, Twin Hills represents a new chapter in Namibia’s mining story — one balancing growth, sustainability, and local benefit.
