By:Staff writer

Trigon Metals announcedlast Thursday the first concentrates were produced at the Kombat mine, after 14 years of closure.
“This is just one of Trigon’s achievements and milestones that would not be possible without your support,” said Jed Richardson, Trigon’s president and CEO.
The results from the drilling of new mineralisation targets at its Kombat mine, some 37 kilometres east of Otavi. These results are from the East 400 area, 150 metres east of the Kavango Pit, extending the Kombat trend mineralisation.
The holes reported are from drilling testing gaps in the known mineralisation previously thought to be barren. Holes 2A, 2B, 4A and 4B are verification holes testing continuity between areas previously drilled. The results are some of the longest intercepts drilled from surface and with both sulfide and oxide mineralization.
Richardson commented: “Surface drilling continues for the Kombat open pit, we continue to be pleased with grades and the length of the intercepts in this area of our planned pit. We have completed all of the targeted holes for the mine plan for open pit restart scheduled to commence next quarter. We will announce the additional holes as those results become available. The final data is being collected and work has commenced on the mine plan, however, exploration drilling will continue as drills move to test new areas at surface.”
The assays have been prepared and classified by Trigon Mining (Namibia)(Pty) Ltd in accordance with the reporting guidelines as set out in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) as required by the Canadian Securities Administrators.
All sample assay results have been monitored through the Company’s quality assurance / quality control programme following E2941 − 21 Standard Practices for Extraction of Elements from Ores and Related Metallurgical Materials by 4 acid Digestion with ICP-OES finish. Drill core was sent to an independent laboratory, African Laboratory Specialists Namibia for analysis. ALS is an independent laboratory, located in Kombat. Core samples were prepared using the ASTM procedures. Sample size: 3 kg, crushed split to 250g weighed sample (+/- 0.5000g).
Trigon Metals operations at the Kombat mine is currently focused on the mine plan to exclusively operate from the Kavango pit and Kombat Trend mineralisation. To date, 148 732 tonnes of ore mined from the open pit1 produced 1 081 tonnes of concentrate grading 18.8% copper and 260.5g/t silver. At least 785 tonnes of copper concentrate were delivered with an average copper grade of 17.1%.
Total revenue of $787 000 (N$13,6 million) was received.
The company’s revised mining plan aims at dramatically improve operating costs at the mine and shareholder returns, by taking advantage of the higher grade and more consistent Kavango and Kombat trend mineralisation.
Trigon Metals expects to take operating costs down to $2.60-$2.80/lb of copper, from the $3.30- $3.50/lb forecasts from the original mining plan.
In terms of the environmental, social and governance considerations, the company, with the restart of the Kombat mine, has been focused on establishing an ESG framework designed for the local community surrounding Kombat. Since commencing plant commissioning in December 2021, the company has implemented various formal policies to ensure the health and safety of all employees and visitors to the site.
The mining company also established a community garden at which 40 women are employed each month, 1 million litres of water provided to the gardens each month, as well as +5,000 litres of water provided daily to the Kombat Combined School. At least 750 kg of onions was harvested in 2022.
“By establishing the vegetable garden, we are investing in the community to sustain itself well beyond the years of mining,” Richardsonsaid.
The company says +44 million litres of drinking water are extracted for Kombat town residents’ use free of charge, while 50 tonnes of domestic waste is collected and moved monthly.
Trigon is a publicly traded Canadian exploration and development company with its core business focused on copper and silver holdings in mine-friendly African jurisdictions. Currently the company has operations in Namibia and Morocco. In Namibia, the Company holds an 80% interest in five mining licences in the OtaviMountainlands, an area of Namibia widely recognised for its high-grade copper deposits, where the company is focused on exploration and re-development of the previously producing Kombat Mine. In Morocco, the company is the holder of the Silver Hill project, a highly prospective copper and silver exploration project.