Deep-South says Namibia Ministry misses deadline to defend licence refusal

Deep-South Resources (TSXV: DSM) seems to have has scored a win in its battle to renew the company’s prospecting licence for the Haib copper project in Namibia, after the country’s mining and energy ministry missed a deadline to file the permit’s refusal. 

Minister Tom Alweendo declined to renew Deep-South’s licence in June last year, citing the Vancouver-based company’s inability to advance to a prefeasibility stage and complete the proposed drilling program as planned.

Deep-South took the case to Namibia’s High Court, which ruled that no permits could be granted over the same area until further notice.

The Haib copper deposit is in the extreme south of Namibia close to the border with South Africa, which is defined by the course of the Orange River. (Image courtesy of Deep-South Resources.)

The court was scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday in which the mining minister’s request for an extension would be considered. The company said its legal team was ready to request the judge a “just and speedy determination” of the case.

Since receiving news of the licence refusal, Deep-South has halted all work on the project and laid off its employees on site.

The company had acquired the remainder of the project in 2017 from Teck Resources, which is one of its major shareholders. 

The updated PEA in December had put Haib’s after-tax net present value (NPV) at US$957 million and IRR at 29.7% using a US$3 per lb. copper price, envisaging a 24-year mine producing 35,332 tonnes per annum of copper cathodes and 51,080 tonnes per year copper sulphate. 

Deep-South is also investigating its international legal options and said it will disclose its strategy in due course.