In an ambitious plan to expand the mineral deposit, Golden Deeps has kicked off a new diamond drilling program targeting untapped extensions of its Nosib strata-bound copper-silver deposit in the northern Namibian province of Otavi Mountain Land.
The Nosib deposit has already yielded promising results.
Previous exploration defined a wide zone of copper-vanadium-lead-silver oxide and supergene mineralisation at surface levels, culminating in mid-2024 with a maiden resource of 707,660 tonnes grading 1.06 per cent copper equivalent. The associated metal grades included 0.67 per cent copper, 0.15 per cent vanadium oxide, 0.84 per cent lead, 0.04 per cent zinc and 3.56 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.
The real intrigue, however, may lie underneath the shallow oxidised deposit. Following it to depth and towards the west, the oxide mineralisation transitions into a primary zone of copper-silver strata bound sulphide deposit, which management says may offer significant opportunities for an expanded resource.
Golden Deep’s confidence in the deeper dirt comes partly from its earlier drilling efforts in 2023 when the company unearthed an impressive sulphide zone. A highlight of the drilling was a hole that intercepted a 44.22m wedge starting at 34.8m and averaged 0.5 per cent copper and 3.2g/t silver. A particularly rich semi-massive sulphide 0.5m interval within the bigger hit returned a remarkable grade of 10.3 per cent copper and 56.9g/t silver.
A later in-house geological analysis of the high-grade cores has winked at the possibility of a thickening deposit with increased grade as the mineralisation extends westward and deeper underground.
The company now plans to drill up to three new diamond drill holes, spanning a total of 330m. The initial drill hole, already underway, is focused on probing the area below the earlier hole while subsequent step-out holes will test 20-metre spaced sections along the western boundary of the deposit.
Nearly 40 kilometres to the northeast of Nosib, the company has also been developing an additional prospect, the Abenab project, which has a resource of 2.30 million tonnes grading 1.11 per cent vanadium equivalent, including grades of 0.61 per cent vanadium, 2.66 per cent lead, 1.04 per cent zinc and 0.06 per cent copper.
The potential for rich mineralisation in the Otavi Mountain Land tenements is already well known, given the area is celebrated for hosting historic discoveries such as the world-renowned Tsumeb mine.
The Tsemeb discovery was made in 1907 and the subsequent mine produced 30 million tons of ore yielding 1.7 million tonnes of copper grading 4.3 per cent, 2.8mt lead running at 10 per cent, 0.9mt zinc at 3.5 per cent and 80t germanium averaging 50 parts per million. It closed in 1996, after 90 years of operation.
The deposit was so rich that at least 56 different minerals were identified in the resource and it was the world’s best source of gem-quality dioptase crystals.
The Tsumeb deposit sits within carbonate rocks and represents the more common style of mineralisation in the area. In contrast, Golden Deep’s Nosib features a much rarer, fragmented, or clastic sediment-hosted mineralised style for the region, making it a particularly exciting prospect.
Beyond Namibia, the company is also actively exploring its Havilah project in Australia’s Lachlan Fold Belt, in central New South Wales. The region is known for its prolific copper-gold deposits.
The company’s recent drilling campaign at site yielded encouraging results, including a copper-zinc sulphide intersection of 84m grading 0.14 per cent copper equivalent.
With multiple exploration projects on the go domestically and internationally, Golden Deeps appears to be entering 2025 with high hopes of a significant discovery. Punters are likely to be keeping a close eye on the company, to see if it can kick off the year with a bang in Namibia.