Mine excursion
Otjikoto:
Namibia’s pot of gold
The Otjikoto Pit was the first to be mined by the B2Gold mining team.
W
ith a cerulean blue sky, the
sweet smell of acacias in full
bloom, and the sandstone
cliffs of the Waterberg plateau on the
distant horizon as constant companions,
the almost 300km drive from Windhoek
to B2Gold’s Otjikoto Mine feels more
like watching a clip from a National
Geographic documentary than the
[14] MINING MIRROR FEBRUARY 2019
hot and dusty expedition one would
have expected.
Otjikoto lies about 60km north-
east of Otjiwarongo, the capital of the
Otjozondjupa region, on the way to the
small town of Otavi. This is cattle and
big game territory, Cheetah savanna, and
termite-infested rangeland. Between the
red mounds and four-foot-high shrubs,
the familiar outline of rocky stockpiles
and a hint of fine white dust indicate the
presence of Otjikoto, Namibia’s second
gold mine and largest gold producer.
Navachab, once owned by AngloGold
Ashanti, was the first gold producer in the
country. Navachab is close to the town of
Karibib in the Erongo region, more than
250km south-west of B2Gold’s Otjikoto.
www.miningmirror.co.za