Osino Resources Corp. ("Osino” or “the Company”) is pleased to report on significant progress achieved to-date on the permitting process for its wholly owned Twin Hills Gold Project (“Twin Hills” or “the Project”) in Namibia.
Osino recently released a pre-feasibility (“PFS”) study for Twin Hills based on 2.15 Moz in reserves, outlining a 13-year open-pit mine life with an average annual gold production rate of 169koz per annum at all-in sustaining costs of US$930/oz in the 10 years of operation. The granting of the mining license confirms Twin Hills’ position as a rapidly advancing, partially permitted, top-tier project in a premier jurisdiction.
Heye Daun, Osino’s co-founder, President & CEO commented: “We are very pleased to have received confirmation from Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy for the Preparedness to Grant of a 20-year mining license for the Twin Hills Gold Project subject to the fulfilment of some remaining conditions which are customary under Namibia’s regulatory regime. Receipt of the mining license is a major endorsement of the progress Osino has made with the advancement of the Twin Hills Gold Project and confirms the support of the Namibian government for the ongoing development of the project. Twin Hills’s stature as one of Namibia’s most exciting mining development projects continues to grow and we are very appreciative of the partnership shown by all Namibian permitting authorities throughout this process.”
Mining License
The Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy (“MME”) has now completed their review of the Mining License application, which was submitted in August 2021, and subsequently issued a Mining License for Twin Hills subject to certain customary conditions.
These conditions include (i) fulfilling an employment quota for certain disadvantaged Namibian groups, (ii) making available a 5% carried interest (not free-carried interest) by certain disadvantaged Namibian groups, (iii) issuance of the Environmental Clearance Certificate (“ECC”) by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Fisheries and Tourism (“MEFT”), and (iv) obtaining the remaining secondary permits to operate the mine.
Osino is very pleased with the partnership shown by various Namibian permitting authorities to-date and is confident that it will fulfil the remaining conditions for the full grant of the Mining License in conjunction with the ongoing advancement of the project.
Environmental Approvals
In conjunction with the Mining License application process, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (“ESIA”) was completed. The ESIA included full baseline specialist studies and extensive stakeholder engagement which took place during most of 2021 and early in 2022. The completed ESIA and Environmental Management Plan (“EMP”) were submitted to the MEFT in March 2022, who reviewed the full impact assessment documentation and have found no fatal flaws.
The review and issuance of the ECC is in its final stages. One of the outstanding aspects is the conclusion of an appropriate engagement, documentation, and management process for the relocation of historic graves at the Twin Hills project site. Stakeholders have agreed to the relocation of the graves to a new site to be agreed upon. Osino is currently preparing to submit a final report to Namibia’s National Heritage Council (“NHC”) including recently completed stakeholder engagements and mitigation measures. Following this, the NHC is expected to submit its recommendation to the MEFT with respect to the issuance of the ECC for the Twin Hills project.
Now that Twin Hills is rapidly progressing into the development phase, Osino’s Project team is also engaging with relevant Namibian line ministries for the necessary secondary site-specific licenses which the Company needs to conclude, prior to entering the construction and operating phase. These include the following approvals:
- Accessory works permit
- Bulk fuel storage permit
- License for explosives magazine
- License to use explosives and burn packaging
- Borehole water abstraction permit
- Tailings waste disposal permit
- Wastewater discharge permit
- River diversion permit
- Land clearing permit
- Emission stacks and towers permit
Osino continues to adhere to Namibian due process and is working with all the relevant Namibian authorities forTwin Hills to be fully permitted as soon as possible, and well within the Project’s development timeframe.
Qualified Person’s Statement
David Underwood, BSc. (Hons) is Vice President Exploration of Osino Resources Corp. and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No.400323/11) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.