London-listed African Pioneer Plc has announced the acquisition of an extra 15-percent interest in its Ongombo and Ongeama projects in Namibia, increasing its stake to 85 percent.
Following the announcement, Namibian businessman Wilhelm Shali will own a 15-percent stake (7,124,675 shares) in the projects, while the London Stock Exchange-listed company will hold an 85-percent interest.
African Pioneer is an Africa-focused mining and exploration company, whose principle business is to explore opportunities within the natural resources sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its business focuses on base and precious metals, including but not limited to copper, nickel, lead and zinc.
The company said the lastest 15-percent stake in the Namibia projects is being acquired through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zamcu Exploration Pty Limited, for AUD528,000 ($382,755).
Both projects are geologically located within the Kuiseb formation, which hosts copper and gold mineralization and are described as Besshi-type volcanic-hosted massive sulfides.
Wilhelm Shali
Shali is the single majority shareholder in Shali Group Holdings Namibia, founded in 2010.
The group operates surface and underground mining and exploration and water well drilling in the Namibian mining industry. The company mines deposits on behalf of client-license holders and delivers the final product at an economical unit cost.
Shali is also associated with the defunct Challenge Air, which threatened to take over Air Namibia and TransNamib properties following a disputed N$400-million ($26.8 million) payment. Although the government paid nearly half the debt, it stopped paying by April 2020.
