The Otjikoto deposit is located within the Damara Mobile Belt, within the northern portion of the northeasterly-striking “Intracratonic Branch” of the belt. It is considered to be an example of an orogenic-style gold deposit.

The Otjikoto area is predominantly underlain by lithologies belonging to the Neoproterozoic Swakop Group. The Okonguarri Formation hosts the gold mineralization and is overlain and underlain by glacial diamictite horizons of the Ghaub and Chuos Formations, respectively. The Okonguarri Formation consists primarily of thick units of dark grey carbonaceous marble, biotite-schist, graphitic schist and calc-silicate horizons. The schist units are derived from semi-pelitic, pelitic, marl and psammitic units in a turbiditic sedimentary package. The rocks in the Otjikoto area have experienced at least three phases of moderate to tight folding and some thrust faulting. They have also been affected by extensive metasomatism, followed by prograde regional metamorphism that has reached upper greenschist to lower amphibolite facies.

Mineralization in the main Otjikoto deposit is hosted by a north–northeast striking sheeted sulphide (+ magnetite)–quartz + carbonate vein system that has a strike length of about 2.6 km, and extends at depth to at least 475 m below surface. The gold occurs in a series of thin (commonly <10 cm) sheeted veins in the Upper and Middle Okonguarri Formation. The veins and associated mineralization form a series of en-ec ........

The Otjikoto Mine is currently an owner-operated conventional open pit operation. Development of the Wolfshag underground mine commenced in late 2020, and ore production is scheduled for the first half of 2022.

Open pit Mineral Reserves will be mined from the Otjikoto and Wolfshag pits for three years, including 2022. The current underground mine plan projects that Mineral Reserves will be mined from the Wolfshag deposit for approximately four years starting in 2022.

The mining operations use conventional open pit mining methods and equipment. Mining is based on a phased approach with stockpiling to bring high-grade forward and provide operational flexibility.

Ten geotechnical domains have been defined in two oxidation domains (calcrete and oxidized; fresh rock), and pit slope angles vary by geotechnical domain. Inter-berm angles range from 30–60º. Beginning at the 1465 RL, 15 m wide geotechnical berms are included in the design on 60 m intervals. These criteria were the basis for the OSA applied in the optimization analysis.

Groundwater is actively extracted ahead of mining from a single dewatering borehole situated between the Otjikoto and Wolfshag pits. Excess water that accumulates in the pit due to groundwater seepage and rainwater accumulation is collected in sumps located in low spots in each pit and pumped to the return water dam.

Where possible, ramps were located in the east wall of both pits to mitigate potent ........

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