By: Invvesting.com

African Pioneer Plc announced it has received an unconditional mining license for its 85%-owned Ongombo Copper-Gold Project in Namibia, valid until March 2045, marking a significant milestone in the company’s development plans.

The mining license (ML 240), issued on June 25, 2025, follows the award of an Environmental Clearance Certificate in March 2025, completing the government permitting process for the project located approximately 40 kilometers northeast of Windhoek.

According to the company’s interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2025, the Ongombo project contains an indicated mineral resource estimate of 5.7 million tonnes at 1.1% copper equivalent, along with inferred underground resources of 23 million tonnes at similar grades.

"African Pioneer has carried out fieldwork in and around the Ongombo Project and are convinced that we can increase the open pit potential," said Colin Bird, Executive Chairman, in a statement. He noted the project represents "a viable near production mining potential for an 8,000 tonne of copper year project."

The company reported it is currently engaging with external mining advisors to provide updated resource estimates and recommendations for infill drilling to maximize increases in the global resource. Discussions are also ongoing with preferred mining contractors for both open pit and underground mining operations.

For the six-month period, African Pioneer reported a loss after tax of £333,000 compared to £322,000 in the same period last year. The company had approximately £69,000 cash at bank at the period end.