Twin Hills sale on track

Local and transformative employment prioritised
Namibia's third gold mine is set to create approximately 1 000 new jobs in the Erongo Region.
STAFF REPORTER
  • 3 Months Ago
Osino Resources looks set to sell its massive Twin Hills Gold Project to Yintai Gold from China, provided the Namibian Competition Commission (NCC) approves the deal. Osino and the commission have been engaged in the NCC’s merger review process for months. The NCC’s final decision with respect to the arrangement is expected by early August, or at the very latest by the end of the statutory review period in early September 2024.

Osino also recently released its third annual sustainability report, outlining the company's social, environmental and economic performance for 2023 and its plans for the Twin Hills Gold Project.

The project is located near Karibib.

The report highlights Osinos commitment to sustainable development and responsible resource extraction. The development of Namibia’s third gold mine is set to create approximately 1 000 new jobs in the region.



Local focus

The company has attracted approximately CAD$81 million (N$982 million) in foreign direct investment for the Namibian economy up to the end of 2023, it said. Last year, Osino’s Namibian procurement spend was CAD$8.9 million (N$123 million), and the company paid CAD$2.3 million (N$31.4 million) in wages and CAD$477k (N$7 million) to the Namibian government. Since 2017, Osino has invested a total of CAD$81 million (N$982 million) in Namibia, according to the report.

The company says it prioritises local and transformative employment, with 89% of its 83 employees being Namibian nationals and 37% from local communities. The company also boasts a 22% female workforce in a male-dominated industry.

Osino has also focused on strengthening local communities and relationships, with 66% of its procurement spend in Namibia, half of which was within the Erongo Region. The company has launched a public grievance mechanism and hired a public relations and community liaison officer to improve community relationships.

The company completed the definitive feasibility study in July 2023 and developed a comprehensive operational readiness plan for the project, which includes key sustainability aspects.

Osino has prioritised environmental performance, recording zero significant environmental incidents. The company has a diversified and sustainable water supply strategy, aiming to minimise the impact on other water users and the environment. It has committed to a significant additional capital investment for pressure filtration and dry-stacking of mine tailings, reducing overall water consumption to less than half of comparable mines in Namibia.



Core values

Heye Daun, Osino’s president and CEO, said: “With the pending acquisition of Twin Hills by Yintai and Yintai’s commitment to finance the development of the Twin Hills Gold Project, site construction is about to commence. This progress could not have happened without the collective dedication of our skilled, motivated and hard-working team, which embodies the company’s core values and purpose and has laid a solid foundation for transitioning from exploration and development studies to real mine construction and operations, with a focus on setting the project up for a responsible mining approach.”

Daun added: “The arrangement remains on track and all closing conditions, other than the NCC approval, have been met. The NCC’s merger review process continues to advance in the ordinary course, and, although the NCC unfortunately did not complete its review in time for the June board meeting, we still expect approval to be received within the timeframe prescribed by the Namibian Competition Act.”

The Twin Hills Gold Project is located within Namibia’s prospective Damara Orogenic Belt, in proximity to and along the strike of the producing open-pit Navachab and Otjikoto gold mines.

A total of 225 574 m of drilling from 1 069 holes has been completed at Twin Hills since 2019. The deposit is a large, shallow gold deposit amenable to open-pit mining. The ore body will be mined as a conventional shovel and truck operation, with bulk mining augmented by more selective mining in areas with narrow ore zones, according to the 2023 definitive feasibility study.

That study indicates that measured and indicated reserves of 84.3 million tonnes of ore can deliver 2.94 million troy ounces of gold over the expected 13-year life of the mine and processing period.