Events have moved quickly for Deep-South Resources Inc. (TSXV:DSM) after receiving good news following a long court battle regarding its Haib Copper Project in Namibia.
In mid-July, the Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company announced its Haib Copper License EPL 3140 had been renewed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia and is valid for a two-year period from its renewal date, which was July 7.
Since then, the company has been able to announce assay results from its 2021 drill program, first on July 26 followed by final results on Aug. 3, which included the highest copper grades ever discovered on the property at 2.57% CuEq.
“With the scarcity of major copper developments on the horizon, Haib’s promise as a significant undeveloped deposit (is clear). We have begun preparations to commence the work program and resume the development of the project as soon as possible. The plan and further information will be disclosed to our shareholders in due course,” Pierre Léveillé, CEO of Deep-South Resources, said in a statement.
The Haib copper deposit
The Haib copper deposit sits roughly 40 kilometres from the southern boundary of Namibia and includes copper and molybdenum.
Additionally, the license spans 370 square kilometres and has had roughly 70,000 metres of drilling done over the years. This has included metallurgical testing, geophysical surveys, geological mapping, mine modeling and a feasibility study done in 1996.
Now that Deep-South Resources has received a license renewal, the company has big plans.
In an interview with The Market Herald Canada, Léveillé explained the deposit is significant because it has more than 5 billion pounds of copper in the ground, is well advanced and will be able to apply for a mining license in the next two to three years after the completion of a feasibility study.
He explained that the deposit can be mined at a low cost because it’s amenable to heap leaching. Leveille also said the extraction process is environmentally friendly because it does not create residue in the air and the leaching process is stable.
“There is no water pollution of any kind,” he said.
Now that the company has had its license renewed at the Haib Copper Project, Deep-South Resources can resume the work it had initially begun in 2021, which includes bioleaching testing and an updated resource estimation.
“We’re also looking at starting an environmental impact study,” Leveille added, which will act as the basis for filing a mining license.
In a further interview with The Market Herald, Léveillé emphasized the latest results provided the opportunity for Deep-South to improve the grade of the deposit. The previous estimation for the deposit was an average of 0.31% Cu, so these latest results, which included 2,57% CuEq, has the company bullish for its prospects.
Highlights from the last seven drill holes
- HM11 : 0.62% CuEq over 10 metres, including 4 metres @ 0.97% CuEq
- HM11 : 0.46% CuEq over 26.36 metres including 4m @ 0.76% CuEq
- HM12: 0.76% CuEq over 20 metres including 4m @ 2.57% CuEq
- HM14 : 0.35% CuEq over 30 metres from surface and 0.48% CuEq over 26 metres
- HM22 : 0.63% CuEq over 50 metres including 0.80% CuEq over 16.00 metres
- HM26 : 0.37% CuEq over 16 metres from 26 metres below surface
The company was also keen to point out that high grades of molybdenum were discovered as well. Molybdenum is a key and rare metal used in the production of alloys, particularly structural and stainless steel.
Deep-South anticipates being able to resume work at the Haib with a metallurgical study in October as well as working on an environmental impact study.
The need for copper
When it comes to copper demand,global primary copper demand is expected to rise by 2 per cent while copper mine production is anticipated to increase 4 per cent.
Moving into the coming years, however, the global copper market is expected to reach a valuation of US$343.9 million by the end of 2030, with top regions such as North America, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East and Africa accounting for most of that production.
In line with this, Leveille told The Market Herald Canada that because of a need for big copper projects – and the need for big deposits – the Haib copper deposit is the perfect fit.
The bottom line
Now that Deep-South Resources is gearing up to get back to work at its Haib Project, it will no doubt be a company to watch for in the coming months as it makes several announcements.
Investors are already paying attention or have stayed patient while the company waits to ramp up activity.
Year-to-date, shares of Deep-South Resources have soared 50 per cent. With the Haib project close to activity again, investors will no doubt be paying close attention.
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