Koryx lifts Haib copper grade outlook
Koryx Copper has overhauled the processing design for its Haib copper project in southern Namibia, introducing a coarse particle flotation system it says will raise ore grades and cut costs ahead of a pre-feasibility study due by the end of 2026.
The Toronto- and Windhoek-listed miner said test work on the Haib deposit confirmed that coarse particle flotation, a technique that separates waste rock from ore at an early, coarser stage of milling, could reject up to 25% of run-of-mine feed as coarse tailings with limited copper loss.
The company said that by removing low-value gangue before finer grinding, the copper equivalent grade entering the flotation circuit was expected to rise to between 0.45% and 0.50% in the first ten years of operation, a significant uplift on earlier projections.
Koryx president and chief executive Heye Daun said the results pointed to materially better project economics.
"With the expected higher processing grade, increased tonnage and simplified flow sheet we anticipate the potential for a significant improvement in project economics with the upcoming PFS," Daun said.
The company also confirmed it had dropped plans for a sulphide heap leach circuit entirely, saying all sulphide material would instead be treated through conventional milling and flotation. It said the change would reduce capital expenditure and simplify the overall process design.
Haib, a large disseminated porphyry deposit carrying copper, molybdenum and gold, is envisaged as a large-scale open-pit mine producing a copper-molybdenum concentrate, with the option of additional copper cathode from oxide heap leaching.
On infrastructure, Koryx said it planned to draw grid power from the Namibian national network, supplemented by a hybrid solar photovoltaic and battery storage system rated at 200 megavolt-amperes. Water would be sourced from the Orange River, with a 20-million-cubic-metre off-site storage dam to manage seasonal variation. A further option linking to the Neckartal Dam via pipeline is under review for a potential future expansion.
The company said 13 specialist environmental baseline studies had been completed and that it expected to submit its application for environmental clearance mid-year. Environmental approval is targeted for mid-2027, in line with typical Namibian regulatory timelines.
