Kombat Mine meets targets early, prepares to stop open-pit operations

Kombat Mine in the Otjozondjupa region will stop open-pit operations at the end of September.

This comes after the mine met its underground targets, as per an agreement with its financiers.

According to a recent statement from Trigon Metals Inc, issued by the Canadian company’s executive chairperson and chief executive Jed Richardson, the mine reached a key milestone of mining an average of 980 tonnes of ore a day from its underground operations over a 30-day period.

This was the agreement with Sprott Resource Streaming and Royalty, which provides specialised forms of capital to the mining sector on behalf of institutional investors.

This threshold was required to be met by 31 October 2025, but Trigon achieved the target 13 months earlier than contractually required.

“This achievement not only reflects our ability to meet and surpass the feasibility study ramp-up targets, but also de-risks the Sprott streaming agreement, ensuring that Trigon is not required to convert the principal advanced, pursuant to the stream agreement, into a loan,” said Richardson.

Exceeding the 900 tonnes per day on average is a significant milestone for the company and testament to the team’s dedication to delivering on its commitments, he added.

According to Richardson, the mining contractor for the open-pit operations has been notified of the intended pause of open pit mining activities and will demobilise from the operations by the end of this month.

“We are grateful to Tulela Mining and Construction, our open-pit mining contractor, for their exceptional support and partnership over the last four years,” Richardson said.

Kombat Mine, whose Namibian partner is deals’ fixer Knowledge Katti, had its first underground blast in February this year, marking the start of underground operations.

The president and chief operations officer of Trigon, Rennie Morkel, commented: “We’ve faced significant challenges with the open pit, where stripping requirements have exceeded our forecasts.”

He said pausing open pit operations will have an immediate positive impact on the company’s operating costs, enabling them to focus on the higher-grade underground ore.

“This strategic shift enhances our ability to increase production while maintaining cost efficiency, ensuring a more sustainable and profitable operation moving forward,” said Morkel.

– email: matthew@namibian.com.na