Golden Deeps data review unearths uber-rich gallium in Namibia

Golden Deeps’ desktop review of historic underground channel samples at its Nosib vanadium and base metals project in Namibia’s Otavi Belt has unearthed multiple intercepts of uber-rich gallium running up to 538 grams per tonne (g/t), laced with significant sniffs of germanium and antimony.

The revisited shallow sections were taken from surface down to 50 metres in the oxide zone and were found to contain high-grade gallium enriched with vanadium, copper, lead and silver.

Golden Deeps’ recent review of samples at its Nosib project in Namibia has revealed high grades of gallium. The neighbouring historic Tsumeb mine in the country’s Otavi Belt was also a rich source of critical metals.

The best past hits include a 23m intercept starting from 4m depth and grading 168g/t gallium, 0.72 per cent copper, 0.54 per cent vanadium, 3.97 per cent lead and 1.8g/t silver. Within the section, a 10m slice was reported running at 250g/t gallium and a further 4m chunk graded 387g/t gallium.

A second 1m sample from surface returned a whopping 538g/t, 1.59 per cent copper, 1.32 per cent vanadium, 8.26 per cent lead, 6g/t silver and 588g/t antimony within a wider 5m section from surface, which graded 155g/t gallium with 1.23 per cent copper, 1.32 per cent vanadium, 4.99 per cent lead and 220g/t antimony.

‘The identification at Nosib of more high-grade gallium, alongside other critical metals such as copper, vanadium, germanium and antimony has enhanced the potential value of this polymetallic discovery.’

Golden Deeps chief executive officer Jon Dugdale

These numbers marry up well with a previous bulk sample taken from surface for metallurgical work to optimise vanadium-copper-lead recoveries, which averaged 102g/t gallium, 8.78 per cent copper, 1.7 per cent lead and 27g/t silver.

Adding to the good news, recently reported drill testing results at Nosib have continued to hit rich polymetallic zones in strata-bound copper-silver sulphides. A hit of 27.3m grading 0.38 per cent copper and 2.56g/t silver confirms the mineralisation remains open to the west and at depth.

Given the new findings, Golden Deeps says its newly acquired and neighbouring Central Otavi critical metals project is now shaping up as a hotbed of opportunity for these high-demand metals.

The company will apply a systematic program to re-assay 20,000 soil samples from site for evidence of high-grade ore.

Golden Deeps chief executive officer Jon Dugdale said: “The identification at Nosib of more high-grade gallium, alongside other critical metals such as copper, vanadium, germanium and antimony has enhanced the potential value of this polymetallic discovery.”

Golden Deeps’ move to highlight the gallium potential at Nosib comes at a time when China - responsible for 98 per cent of world production – has created a hiatus in the critical metals market by recently slapping an export ban on various metals, including gallium, antimony and germanium.

Prices have shot higher as the rest of the world scrambles for alternative sources of the metals, leaving companies with inventories of these metals - such as Golden Deeps - in the box seat.

The world-class Otavi Belt is no stranger to base metal developments with associated gallium, germanium and antimony. Often regarded as elephant country, the rich belt includes deposits such as the massive Tsumeb mine, 40 kilometres to the west of Golden Deeps’ grounds.

Tsumeb famously delivered 27 million tonnes at a tasty 4.3 per cent copper, 10 per cent lead, 3.5 per cent zinc, silver grading at 95g/t and 50g/t germanium.

Mining at Tsumeb has closed, however, Chinese-based Sinomine is showing renewed interest in the resource by reportedly ploughing US$223M (A$371M) into processing the remaining 3MT slag heap at site, with grades of 254g/t germanium, 139g/t gallium and 7.1 per cent zinc.

A little further up the road, the Kombat mine contains a 12.5Mt copper resource grading at 2.6 per cent and has also reported highly anomalous germanium and antimony within its deposit.

A second-phase drill program is being planned to extend known mineralisation and test deeper targets. In parallel, Golden Deeps will continue metallurgical test work and resource modelling to better define Nosib’s gallium and associated metal potential.

When all the data has been crunched, Golden Deeps will incorporate the gallium into its current JORC resource estimate for Nosib, which stands at 707,600t grading 1.06 per cent copper equivalent. The gallium is expected to significantly enhance the project’s valuation.

With gallium front and centre in global supply chain strategies and Golden Deeps rapidly advancing a high-grade, near-surface deposit in a strategic jurisdiction, the company is well-placed to play a significant role in the future of critical metals production.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: [e-mail]