Name of the Project
Haib copper project.

Location
Partially in the Namaqua-Natal province, in Namibia, called the Richtersveld geological subprovince.

Project Owner/s
Mineral explorer and developer Deep-South Resources, through its subsidiary Haib Minerals.

Project Description
An updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) has shown the Haib project to be amenable to bioheap-leaching.

The PEA envisages a life-of-mine of 24 years and a throughput of 20-million tonnes a year, with copper recovery estimated at 80%, and production estimated at 35 332 t/y of copper cathode and 51 081 t/y of copper sulphate.

The mine design is based on openpit methods. As the deposit comprises hard-rock material, the mining operations will involve the drill and blast of all excavated material, which will be segregated by cutoff grade.

The mining fleet will consist of appropriately sized hydraulic excavators and off-highway dump trucks, supported by standard opencut drilling and auxiliary equipment.

There will not be any tailings. The spent heaps will be rehabilitated and left in place. Owing to environmental reasons and water resources, the tailings from the pH adjustment process and the iron removal process will be disposed onto the spent heaps using filtered dry-stacked tailings.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a discount 7.5% rate, of $977-million, and an internal rate of return 30.1%, with a payback of 4.22 years.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure is estimated at $341-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Deep-South Resources has announced the third batch of assay results from its drilling programme at its Haib copper project, which was interrupted in June 2021.

The programme, renewed this month, was interrupted when the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy denied the renewal of the Haib copper licence EPL 3140. Following a legal challenge, the licence has since been renewed.

Results from 12 drill holes have been received.

Deep-South has completed its quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) on the first six drill holes. The QA/QC on the remaining results is under way. Twenty-two holes were drilled and 19 samples were sent for assaying. The remaining three samples will be prepared and eventually sent for assaying. Results for eight holes have been disclosed, with a further six holes disclosed on July 26. The remaining six will be disclosed upon completion of Deep-South’s QA/QC.

The six holes for which assay results are reported cover 1 193.59 m and cover all four of the target areas.

All holes were positioned to better delineate the previously identified higher-grade portions of the project and test the extension of grade between these targets.

The previously undisclosed results reveal the intersection of a section measuring 64 m, showing a concentration of 0.61% copper equivalent.

Within this larger intersection, there are two notable subsections. The first subsection spans 16 m, starting from a depth of 26 m, and displays an even higher concentration of 0.79% copper equivalent. The second subsection covers 14 m and exhibited a concentration of 0.71% copper equivalent.

At hole HM27, Deep-South has found a section measuring 14 m from the surface, showing a copper equivalent concentration of 0.48%.

At HM28, a significant intersection measuring 64 m has displayed a copper equivalent concentration of 0.61%. This intersection includes two noteworthy subsections: the first is a 16 m stretch with a higher concentration of 0.79% copper equivalent, and the second is a 14 m section with a concentration of 0.71% copper equivalent.

At HM29, the exploration reveals an 18 m section with a copper equivalent concentration of 0.56%.

HM30 showcases an intersection spanning 50 m, with a copper equivalent concentration of 0.37%. Within this larger section, a 4 m subsection displays an even higher concentration of 1.09% copper equivalent.

At HM31, Deep-South has discovered a section measuring 10 m, which shows a copper equivalent concentration of 0.40%.

At HM31R, the company has encountered two notable segments. The first section covers 12 m and displays a copper equivalent concentration of 0.53%. The second section, measuring 22 m, shows a slightly lower concentration of 0.45% copper equivalent.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
METS Engineering Group (updated PEA); Knight Piésold Consulting (scoping studies and assessments); Csiro (conduct bio-assisted heap-leaching column testwork); and METS Engineering Group of Australia (testwork supervision).

Contact Details for Project Information
Deep-South Resources (Namibia), tel +264 61 435 8267 or email info@deepsouthresources.com.