Mining project generator Cloudbreak Discovery PLC (LSE: CDL) has entered into a Mineral Application Cooperation Agreement with Gondwana Petroleum Namibia, Timeworn Investments, Pioneer Oil and Gas Consulting and a Swiss Based Asset Manager. The purpose of the MACA is to jointly work towards submission of an application to acquire Petroleum Exploration License 1724 in Namibia.
Cloudbreak will act as a financial partner and sit on the joint operating committee giving corporate direction and reviewing technical information. As part of the MACA, Cloudbreak has provided a letter of financial comfort that has been submitted to the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Namibia with the application for Block 1724.
Cloudbreak Discovery plays a role in locating interesting mining and natural resources projects and developing them along with select partners within the requisite industries. While most of its projects to date have been located in Canada, the management team has made no secret of its plans to look further afield, with Africa ear-marked as one source of opportunities.
What is Cloudbreak Disocvery’s role in all this?
Should the block be awarded to the group, Cloudbreak will provide the required financial guarantee of up to USD $120,000 to support exploration initiatives during the first year. The financial guarantee will be replaced as soon as practical by a new holding company. In exchange for Cloudbreak’s participation as financial partner, it will receive a 10% interest in Block 1724. Additionally, should the award of Block 1724 be offered by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the MACA will be replaced by a definitive agreement prior to accepting the award of Block 1724.
Kyler Hardy, President and CEO of Cloudbreak, explained, “By deploying our project generation methodology and strategies into the energy sector Cloudbreak has an opportunity to expand the scope of our exploration and development projects. Recent discoveries by several major and midsized global energy companies in Namibia has opened significant opportunity to participate in new exploration initiatives in the country.”
Hardy said Cloudbreak’s local partners have been exploring and consulting for decades in the region. Namibian exploration for oil and gas is still early stage with several Karoo Basins across the Southern Trans-African Rift and Shear System remaining largely untested. These basins are highly prospective hosts for oil and gas occurrences.
Positive indications of mineral potential
Initial exploration has yielded positive indications of the mineral potential. These basins are comprised of thick sequences of sedimentary materials ranging in composition from conglomerates to mudstones with observed carbonaceous content, specifically several coal deposits and seams.The interactions of the Southern Trans-African Rift system have played a key role in basin development as intra-basin transfer faults. The same tectonic processes provided the drivers for hydrocarbon development in the region. Block 1724 is a conceptual early-stage regional exploration target with a solid geologic thesis; as such, additional data collection and compilation will be required to further refine the target area.
The targets are thick sequences of sandstone and conglomerates overlain by very thick interbedded shales and mudstones within the Carboniferous-Permian Caprivi Basin, specifically along the Caprivi strip. The interpretation of the data indicates several deep-seated basement structures and have improved constraints on target depths.
The geophysical data indicates depth to crystaline basement varies between 4,000 to 7,000 m below surface. Interpretation has denoted two areas of particular interest, Zone A and Zone B targets; these targets are comprised of gravity and magnetic lows, with low amplitude magnetic signatures indicative of these thicker sequences within interpreted depocenters.
