“I’m just shocked by how much progress we’ve made in the last six months.”
This was the first thing Brett said to me when I was speaking to him earlier this week.
I speak with Brett every day, but as a reader of Boots on the Ground, I thought it would be good to give you a little insight into what’s on Brett’s mind at the moment.
He went on to say:
“I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. But it’s very positive how much progress we have made in the last three months. It’s good to have such a clear grasp of the geology on the ground and have that backed up by such a detailed geochemical survey. It means we now have multiple well-defined targets. And that puts us in a very strong position.”
He's right, it does.
And I think our recent trip helped us get to this stage.
On the progress front, we spoke about the fact he’s been working on finding new investment so we can maximise the potential we have clearly seen across our various projects.
I asked him how that’s going?
“When I look at a company or project,” he explained, “the first thing I look at is the licence package and status of these. We have a unique position with our licences on the KSZ, which demands a special approach.”
“It’s a big project,” he went on. “People forget that. But I think the appointment of Tamesis Partners to lead our efforts in seeking a partner or partners for the KSZ provides significant confirmation of our own confidence in the opportunity.”
I’d agree. Tamesis have a lot of experience too.
“They’re well known in mining circles too,” Brett pointed out. “And they’re attuned to identifying early opportunities. They’ve worked a lot with companies to grow these types of opportunities over time. They get what we’re doing, and I think that’s important. It helps too that we’ve got a good suite of projects on the go across the country. We’ve got a broad scope.”
I thought I’d be a bit cheeky and put him on the spot by asking which of our projects has him the most excited right now, and why?
“That’s tough,” he said. “In my career I’ve been closely involved with early drilling and taking projects through to that critical first resource, which can really underpin a company’s valuation. So, I guess you could say I’m someone who likes to get metal on the books as soon as possible.”
I pushed him to choose.
“I’m going to say the KCB. We have multiple licences, each of which offers several chances for a discovery within it. For a single company to have all of these opportunities under one roof offers major upside potential.”
Speaking of Botswana more generally, I asked him why he thinks the country is so well primed right now?
He pointed out that Botswana has a great mineral endowment, which the world is only just waking up to. He agrees with me: this is the right time to be in the country.
He went on to say that critically, as far as he sees it, Botswana doesn’t suffer from the negative issues that can be found elsewhere in the world.
“It’s a safe place to work,” he said, “with good infrastructure, a clear mineral rights system, and a committed skilled workforce. People might not realise but our entire geological team is from Botswana. These are people who have accumulated years of knowledge in the area, and it makes sense to work closely with them.”
“Above all,” he told me. “The country is pro-mining and keen to diversify beyond its historic diamond-dominated sector. A lot of other countries, including in the west, could learn from this.”
I think he’s right.
And as I discovered for myself again recently, it’s just such a nice place to be. The feeling there is so positive.
Renewing our interest in the region
When we were speaking, we were just lining up our RNS about renewing our licenses and I asked him how important he thought it was for us to renew and expand our footprint in the country.
He agreed it was very important, and that our recent licence renewal, and the issue of an additional licence, confirms our footprint, particularly in the KSZ, and affirms Botswana’s recognition of the work already carried out by Kavango.
He was happy with the progress we’re making.
As am I.
Brett pointed out that it shows that Botswana is a place where, so long as one carries out work, renewal will generally be implemented.
That’s a good sign.
It’s what makes it such an attractive jurisdiction for companies like ours.
Finally, before we headed to our next meeting, I asked Brett what he was most looking forward to over the next few months where Kavango is concerned?
He explained:
“We have advanced our KCB licences as far as we can, ready for drilling and we are talking to drill contractors. I’m really looking forward to us moving to the next stage: drill testing and investigating as many of the targets that we have generated as we can.”
He’s not the only one.
I’m excited about the drill testing myself and I’m keen to see what comes of it.
As Brett pointed out, and as we often remind ourselves each day, there’s a lot to be positive about here at Kavango right now and we’ve got a lot of very interesting news on the horizon.
Like me, Brett is excited about what we’re doing, and I must say what a pleasure it is to have him as part of the team.
I hope you found it interesting hearing a little more of Brett’s opinion too—at some point I think we might try to do a webinar together just for readers of Boots on the Ground. Watch this space.
But I’ll be in touch again in the meantime, through this email and elsewhere, as things develop.
