Craton has received the Environmental Clearance Certificates from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to undertake drilling and exploration activities on the mining and exploration licences. The project area has no recognised environmental liabilities, but in accordance with licencing requirements, Craton will submit environmental progress reports every six months, documenting work undertaken and demonstrating any environmental impact, with remedial action and rehabilitation.
Given that Namibia is an arid country and water a precious resource, the process design maximises the re-use of water, and as the leaching and copper recovery is a closed circuit, the main loss of water is the evaporation from the heaps and the ponds. The design of the process plant will focus on minimising this evaporation.
Craton is working with the Department of Water Affairs to provide sufficient sustainable water to site, available from a nearby aquifer.
The Omitiomire Project will have strict access monitoring and the mine footprint will be tightly controlled.
- Omico holds regular community engagement with local stakeholders, including attending Farmers Association Meetings
- ESIA and ESMP being developed with local and regional stakeholders to IFC and World Bank Standards
- Application for environmental clearance to construct and mine to be submitted Q1 2024 – all specialist studies complete
- the development of the Omitiomire Project will result in the creation of 800-1000 direct jobs
The existing list of known stakeholders is being expanded, through advertising of the proposed project in local and national newspapers, and stakeholders will be invited to comment, and/or attend public meetings where the Project will be presented.
Important stakeholders include the landowners that are directly and indirectly affected by the project and its associated linear infrastructure corridors, and the landowners downstream of the proposed river diversion, will be consulted.
In accordance with the conditions of the Mining Licence, 5% of Craton is owned by the Craton Foundation, a trust established for the benefit of the local community.