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Noronex to emulate copper successes

he Kalahari copper belt is emerging as Speaking at Africa Down Under, Hooper “We are really looking for the ‘big one’
Tthe world’s next major copper province said a fourth prospect, Danheim, had the and the modelling for fluid flow and pre-
and Australian miners and explorers are in potential to increase the endowment at Wit- cipitation of copper points on the Snowball
the box seat to benefit from it. vlei. project – which has never been drilled –
The belt – which spans parts of Botswa- “This area was unknown and undrilled points to this as one of the best areas, with
na and Namibia – has long been touted as up until a year ago when we started look- analogies to where the Kamoa discovery is
a copper exploration hotspot but largely ing at some of the old soils anomalies and in DRC,” he said.
flattered to deceive last decade with only drilling holes,” Hooper said. “We’ve had a Kamoa, owned by Ivanhoe Mines Inc,
one project – Cupric Canyon’s 130,000 number of thick, high-grade intercepts and started operations in 2021 and is ramping
tpa copper Khoemacau mine in Botswana now have copper mineralisation over more up to an initial 200,000 tpa copper produc-
– reaching production, but with Sandfire than 1km of strike.” tion profile.
Resources Ltd’s Motheo project set to start Noronex’s best hit to date was 27m @ Hooper said the early evidence at Snow-
mining next year and Cobre Ltd enjoying 1.6% copper, including 10m @ 2.5% cop- ball suggested exploration should target
strong market interest in its Ngami project, per but Hooper said the drilling indicated a the black shale horizon which hosts or is
there is a new momentum in the district. much wider zone. related to mineralisation at Khoemacau,
Another ASX-listed explorer, Noronex “Over the whole 300m section we hit Motheo and Ngami.
Ltd, is hoping to emulate its fellow Austral- good copper across the broad zone so not “We started drilling on a couple of kilo-
ians. Noronex is focused on the Namibian only will it have these high grades, it bulks metre spacings, targeting that distinctive
side of the Kalahari belt with three projects up into significant zones,” he said. horizon shale above the sandstone,” he
– Humpback, Snowball and Witvlei – cover- Down-hole optical logging has given said. “It is the key horizon for precipitating
ing more than 200km of strike. Noronex a greater understanding of struc- the copper.”
With former Sandfire chief geologist tural controls with a new drilling programme Noronex is following even closer in Co-
Bruce Hooper leading the exploration push, now testing underneath the high-grade bre’s footsteps at Humpback, where it is
Noronex is confident of following a similar zones to delineate the extent of mineralisa- drilling along strike (and across the border)
path to its counterparts over the border. tion. from Ngami.
The most advanced project in the portfo- While Witvlei is the most advanced pro- “This belt has a long way to go, and I can
lio is Witvlei which already boasts a 10mt @ ject in the portfolio, Hooper sounded even see it being another significant African cop-
1.3% copper inferred resource across three more excited by the potential of the Snow- per producing zone,” Hooper said.
shallow chalcocite deposits. ball JV 50km north-east.
– Dominic Piper

DISCOVERY

ASX: CDT
www.castleminerals.com

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT OCTOBeR 2022 Page 41