Osino Gold Exploration and Mining (Osino) has commenced the environmental clearance process to extract groundwater from the Kranzberg Aquifer, a crucial step in securing water for its Twin Hills gold project near Karibib.
The company has commissioned an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed water abstraction, a prerequisite for obtaining an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
The Twin Hills mine is projected to require approximately 3,300 cubic metres of water per day, equivalent to 1.1 million cubic metres per year.
While earlier investigations by the company identified viable sources near the mine site, Osino partnered with Namibia Water Corporation Limited (NamWater) to explore additional options, confirming the feasibility of groundwater abstraction from the Kranzberg Aquifer.
“This finding supports expansion of the Kranzberg Water Supply Scheme. Abstraction of 460,800 m³/annum was recommended from five recently drilled production boreholes,” the scoping report confirmed.
Under the proposal, water would be drawn from five newly drilled production boreholes and piped via Karibib to a reservoir at the mine site.
The Kranzberg Aquifer, which includes the Kranzberg and Aroab sub-aquifers, receives an estimated recharge of between 500,000 and 600,000 cubic metres annually, based on multiple scientific methods.
“All methods yield groundwater recharge rates between 500,000 and 600,000 m³/annum.”
To assess long-term sustainability, a 3D groundwater model was developed using the FEFLOW software platform.
“Results show that residual drawdown occurring in the palaeochannel after 13 years of operation is approximately seven metres,” the report said.
The Twin Hills Gold Project is being developed as a conventional open-pit mine, targeting an orogenic-style, sedimentary-hosted gold deposit.
