Date: 25 July 2024
Bristlecone Investments (Pty) Ltd. applied for 2 EPL’s in the Kaokoland, Kunene Region in May 2022. This falls within the Kaokoland base metals basin and is one of the newest exploration frontiers in Namibia, which is very much underexplored.
The region is known as the “Kunene Copper Belt” which has been actively explored for over 50 years. Exploration has been carried out by companies like Teck Cominco Ltd., INV Metals, Kaokoland Mining & Exploration Company and Siberia Metal Traders as well as several public and private prospectors.
Our exploration area was previously explored by Teck Cominco. Teck Resources Limited, known as Teck Cominco until late 2008, is a diversified natural resources company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is engaged in mining and mineral development, including coal for the steelmaking industry, copper, zinc, and energy. The company withdrew from Namibia as part of a financial recovery plan when faced with economic difficulties in the mid 2000’s.
Mr. Eben Rautenbach, previously as independent exploration and field geologist for Teck Cominco, was handed some of the company’s exploration data as part payment for services rendered when the company left Namibia. Mr. Rautenbach offered to sell the exploration data set to Bristlecone for a 5% stake in the Kaokoland project should we successfully develop a minable resource. The exploration data is worth well over an estimated US$8m in todays value.
The data set was investigated and analyzed to earmark a +-100,000 ha area (“the target area”) where Mr. Rautenbach sampled and drilled for possible base metal orebodies. Sedimentary stream sampling was done with recorded GPS coordinates and laboratory analysis of the samples. These samples showed very promising results for a possible discovery of numerous base metal ore bodies.
The board decided to apply over the target area and contracted a well known geologist and very familiar with the target area, Mr. Volker Petzel, to assist in the application of these EPL’s. Part of the application process involved an extensive trip to the key Tribal Chiefs in the affected areas for consent to the 2 EPL applications.
On the 2nd July 2024 the Ministry of Mines & Energy notified their intention to grant the EPL’s (9286 & 9287), pending our willingness to continue and comply with a follow-up ECC (Environmental Clearance Certificate) within 12 months of acceptance.
Once these EPL’s have been awarded by the Ministry of Mines & Energy through the approval of the ECC’s for the EPL’s, a geochemical drilling program will be executed at the high grade zones according to the current data set. Should the drilling program produce positive results, further exploration on a possible ore body will be planned. One of the main targets is a high grade nickel zone according the Teck Cominco sampling data. Other high grade readings includes copper, zinc, gold. Our vision is to identify at least 2 to 3 substantial orebodies to
be developed into producing mines.
(Both EPL’s can be verified through the Namibia Mines and Energy Cadastre Map Portal https://portals.landfolio.com/namibia)
Fig 1 & 2: Application areas (9286 & 9287)
Fig 3 & 4: Sampling points with medium to high mineral readings
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