Noronex Ltd, in partnership with global mining giant South32, has announced exciting new drilling results from their Fiesta prospect in Namibia. As part of their broader Humpback-Damara project located in the southwestern region of the country, the joint venture has identified a 30-meter section with 1.1% copper-equivalent from an extensive 5,000-meter drill program.
The Fiesta prospect lies within the renowned Kalahari Copper Belt, a vast mining region stretching 800 km across northern Botswana and into eastern Namibia, known for its rich deposits of copper and silver.
Of the four initial drill holes in the western part of the Fiesta prospect, all encountered substantial copper and silver mineralization. The standout result includes an intersection of 30 meters at 0.56% copper and 62 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, equating to a copper-equivalent grade of 1.1%. Within this section, an 8-meter interval of 1.23% copper and 138 g/t silver was identified, yielding a copper-equivalent grade of 2.5%.
Other significant hits from the drilling campaign include 8 meters at 0.46% copper and 19 g/t silver for 0.62% copper-equivalent, and 4 meters at 0.81% copper and 5 g/t silver for a copper-equivalent of 0.86%. These findings build on an earlier discovery at Fiesta, where 45 meters at 0.8% copper and 23 g/t silver were uncovered at a depth of 144 meters.
The drilling program, currently funded by a South32 subsidiary under an earn-in and joint venture agreement, will see South32 commit $3 million annually for the next five years. This investment will grant South32 a 60% stake in the project after spending a minimum of $15 million.
The drilling campaign has already seen the completion of 14 reverse-circulation (RC) drill holes, covering 3,500 meters of the planned 5,000-meter total. The Fiesta prospect lies on the western closure of the mineralized NPF-D’Kar contact, and the drilling is targeting new zones of mineralization across the 4 km-long system identified at the site.
Noteworthy intersections have been observed over a 300-meter-wide zone in the western part of Fiesta, with a significant hit of 8 meters at 0.46% copper and 19 g/t silver for a copper-equivalent of 0.62%. This result suggests potential extensions of mineralization to the southwest, and further step-out drilling will be conducted to assess the strike potential.
Noronex believes these multiple intercepts may lead to thicker, potentially open-pit-minable zones that could significantly increase the project’s economic potential. Additionally, these results show similarities to other high-profile copper-silver deposits in Botswana, such as Cupric Canyon’s Khoemacau project, which boasts a resource of 502 million tonnes at 1.4% copper and 17 g/t silver.
Once drilling at Fiesta is completed, the rig will move to the Damara section of the project, where six additional RC holes will be drilled to a depth of 250 meters. These holes will target gravity anomalies at three key prospects: Otjiuapehuri, Otjozondera, and Okatumba Gate.
Noronex, which holds an 8,500-square-kilometer exploration land package within the Kalahari Copper Belt, is well-positioned to benefit from the growing demand for copper. The Kalahari Copper Belt currently produces 90,000 tonnes of copper annually, with 8 million tonnes of copper resources. Additionally, Noronex holds a 95% stake in the Witvlei project in Namibia, which contains a resource of 10 million tonnes at 1.3% copper.
With copper anticipated to play a central role in the global energy transition, Noronex’s projects are strategically located in a region that offers a favorable permitting environment. Recent project approvals have been quicker than in other copper-producing countries, further boosting the company’s prospects in the face of a potential copper supply shortage.
