Trigon Metals, a Canadian publicly listed junior mining company linked to Namibian multimillionaire Knowledge Katti, has placed an order with Swedish mining equipment company Epiroc to buy underground mining equipment worth $8.9 million.
This equipment will form the bulk of the underground mining fleet for restarting operations at the company’s Kombat Mine in Namibia where production is scheduled to ramp up from April 2024.
“BREAKING HAPPY NEWS: We’ve just secured around N$169 million to move forward with preparations for early next year’s Kombat underground mining. This follows previous positive news about commencing production at the plant after opening the open pit mine. More jobs, more success, more opportunities. Well done, Team Kombat. We currently have 525 employees, and I have confidence that more will be employed next year,” he shared on his Facebook page.
The purchase will be executed through the company’s Namibian subsidiary, Trigon Mining (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd. Trigon Namibia will make an upfront down payment of 15 percent of the value of the equipment, and will obtain equipment financing from Epiroc Financial Solutions AB for the remaining 85 percent of the purchase value.
The facility term extends over 60 months from the date of equipment shipment, accruing interest at a rate of 10.95 percent per annum. Repayments will be conducted through 55 monthly installments, beginning six months after respective shipment dates.
An arrangement fee of 0.75 percent of the financed sum will be paid upon signing a supplier credit agreement. The facility will be secured by the mining equipment itself, supplemented by a guarantee from Trigon. The mining equipment is anticipated to be received on-site at Kombat between October 2023 and March 2024.
Trigon Metals is a publicly traded Canadian firm, specializing in copper production and exploration in mining-friendly African regions. Its key asset is the copper-rich Kombat Mine.
Knowledge Katti possesses a 10-percent stake in Kombat Mine through his company, Havana Investments. Havana Investments initially held full ownership of Kombat Mine, acquired from South African entity Grove Mining, but later divested 80 percent to Trigon while retaining 20 percent. Katti subsequently donated 10 percent of his shares to the local Kombat community.
Kombat is a mine and settlement located at the southern edge of the Otavi Mountain Range in northern Namibia, situated 37 kilometers (about 23 miles) east of Otavi on the B8 route to Grootfontein. Minerals were discovered near Kombat in 1850, with various mining firms exploring and extracting copper from the area for more tha a century.
Following a 2007 flood-induced abandonment, the mine lay dormant for years. Knowledge Katti acquired the town and mine in 2015. In November 2021, Canada-based Trigon Metals announced the takeover of the mine under a lease agreement.
Knowledge Katti also owns all the land in and around the Kombat Mine area. In 2021, he leased the land to Trigon for $1.4 million for a lease period of the duration of the mining licenses held by Trigon.
Katti, 50, is one of Namibia’s wealthiest businessmen and a prominent personality in the natural resources sector. Mr. Katti was formerly a director of UNX Energy Corporation and the founder and CEO of Kunene Energy Ltd., the first indigenous Namibian oil and gas exploration company.
The Kombat Copper Project serves as Trigon Metals Inc.’s flagship venture, covering over 7,500 hectares in Namibia’s Otavi Mountainlands. The project includes three mining licenses that collectively produced around 12.46 million tonnes of copper from 1962 to 2008, at a grade of 2.62 percent. Two additional licenses near Kombat, Gross Otavi and Harasib, show promise for lead and zinc. Additionally, the company holds interest in two exclusive prospecting licenses, extending the potential strike of the Kombat deposit.
