Niël Terblanché
Australian mining company Golden Deeps Ltd informed its investors on the Australian Securities Exchange that it has commenced with a new diamond drilling programme targeting extensions of the Nosib strata bound copper-silver deposit within its Otavi Mountain Land (OML) tenements in northern Namibia.
According to the statement, the initiative aims to build upon previous findings and explore the deposit’s potential at greater depths and to the west.
Earlier drilling efforts at the Nosib deposit identified a zone of copper-vanadium-lead-silver oxide and supergene mineralisation from the surface.
This discovery formed the basis of a maiden Mineral Resource for the prospect, announced in June 2024.
The company indicated that the oxide mineralisation transitions at depth and to the west into a primary copper-silver strata bound sulphide deposit, hosted by the Nosib Formation’s clastic sediments—a unique and under-explored setting compared to the predominantly carbonate-hosted deposits in the Otavi Mountain Land, such as Tsumeb.
In 2023, diamond drill hole NBSDD007 intersected 44.22 metres at 0.50% copper and 3.2 grams per tonne silver from 34.8 metres, including a semi-massive sulphide zone of 0.49 metres at 10.3% copper and 56.9 grams per tonne silver.
The company said that this suggests that the copper-silver sulphide zone is thickening and increasing in grade to the west and at depth.
According to the announcement, the current drilling programme plans to execute up to three diamond drill holes, totalling approximately 330 metres, to test extensions of the thick copper-silver strata bound sulphide deposit at Nosib.
The first hole is underway, targeting the down-dip of NSBDD0017, with subsequent step-out holes intended to explore potential extensions of the deposit on 20-metre spaced sections to the west.
Golden Deeps maintains a dual exploration focus, operating in both the Lachlan Fold Belt copper-gold province of New South Wales, Australia, and Namibia’s Otavi Mountain Land.
In Namibia, the company has been exploring several critical metal deposits, including high-grade supergene vanadium, copper, lead, zinc, and silver, as well as primary copper-silver sulphide deposits.
Recently, Golden Deeps announced new Mineral Resources for the Abenab high-grade vanadium (lead, zinc) project, the Nosib vanadium-copper-lead-silver deposit, and the Khusib Springs silver-copper deposit.
According to Golden Deeps, both the Nosib and Khusib Springs copper-silver sulphide deposits remain open at depth and to the west.
The company stated that the drilling programme is advancing its understanding of the Nosib deposit’s potential.
“The initiation of this drilling programme marks an important step in our exploration efforts within the Otavi Mountain Land. We are optimistic that these efforts will further delineate the resource and enhance our development strategy in Namibia,” the statement reads.
The company said that the outcome of this drilling programme is anticipated to provide valuable insights into the Nosib deposit’s expansion potential, contributing to the company’s broader objectives in the Otavi Mountain Land.
