Gold focussed exploration company Wia Gold Limited’s updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Kokoseb gold project in Namibia shows an uplift of 38% to 2.93M ounces of gold, including 1.81M oz Au in the indicated category at 0.50 g/t cut off, accounting for approximately 62% of the updated resource.

Kokoseb is located in the Okombahe exploration licence, near the town of Okombahe, located approximately 220 km from the capital, Windhoek. There is good access to the project, with a double lane sealed highway to within near proximity of the deposit. The project also has good access to several drilling, geophysical, and mining services companies, assay laboratories, and a base of skilled mining workers and contractors. Drilling and field exploration are able to proceed all year round.

Namibia is a recognised mining jurisdiction with an established history as a significant producer of uranium, diamonds, gold and base metals. It has good infrastructure and a mining-friendly environment with an active exploration and mining industry. The Kokoseb deposit aligns well in scale with the other gold projects in the country which are mining or under development phases. The MRE provides a base for the targeted future development of a low cost, long-life open pit gold mine.

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Kokoseb was first identified in May 2021, by a regional grid soil sampling programme completed over the licence as a first pass comprehensive reconnaissance. This third upgraded MRE comes four years after the deposit’s discovery and three years after commencement of drilling. Upgrading a significant portion of the MRE to indicated category forms the principal resources platform to progress the scoping study. A strategy to significantly increase the amount of infill drilling in January was successful with 62% of the MRE now in the indicated category. This will give the company confidence to move seamlessly from scoping study to a DFS.

Commenting on the MRE, Wia executive chairman, Josef El-Raghy, says: “Kokoseb continues to grow exponentially, and it is very pleasing to note that a significant amount of the increased resources now falls into the higher confidence indicated category. With the continued drilling, we are learning more about the continuity of mineralisation along strike and at depth, as well as the potential for large sections of high-grade material, both shallow and at depth, which will continue Kokoseb’s growth momentum.