TRIGON Metals has received its first scheduled quarterly payment for the sale of Kombat Mine, near Otavi, to Horizon Corporation Limited, through its affiliate Kamino Minerals Limited, ahead of the agreed 4 April deadline.
According to a statement issued by Trigon president and chief executive Jed Richardson, this payment marks the first of a series of eight quarterly payments over an agreed schedule, giving the Canada-based company a steady, non-dilutive source of funding.
In addition to these fixed payments, Trigon is expected to receive performance-based royalties and bonuses upon the successful restart of production at Kombat Mine, further aligning long-term value creation with operational milestones.
Trigon, whose Namibian partner is businessman Knowledge Katti, signed a definitive agreement in May 2025 to sell its interest in Kombat Mine to Horizon Corporation Limited for a total cash consideration of approximately N$429 million.
Richardson says the steady stream of capital from the sale of Kombat Mine will provide financing for Trigon’s Moroccan exploration, where the company relocated to after selling Kombat.
“We are looking forward to the first results out of our district-scale silver-polymetallic Addana Project. We have completed camp set-up and access is cleared to drilling sites at Addana.
“Geosond is on site with a drill rig, and we are excited to begin unlocking the potential of our highly prospective land package as we pivot from Trigon Metals to Safi Silver,” he says.
Trigon Metals operated the historic Kombat Mine as its flagship project, focusing on a revival strategy that moved from open-pit mining to higher-grade underground operations before ultimately selling the asset in 2025 following severe operational failures.
“The operation was plagued by water management issues, high costs and, ultimately, a catastrophic pump failure in January 2025,” says Richardson.
The resulting mine closure and sale affected more than 500 workers who lost their jobs.
Trigon initiated open-pit mining in May 2023, achieving commercial production in October 2023.
In September 2023, the company began dewatering the Asis West underground mine, with mining starting ahead of schedule in February 2024 and commercial production reached in May 2024 with a target to utilise the 1 000-tonne-per-day processing plant to produce high-grade copper and silver.
Trigon used about US$100 million on existing infrastructure, including an 800m shaft, a refurbished mill and a tailings facility.
Another problem Trigon faced before the sale of Kombat was the primary and recurring challenge of managing water inflow in the underground workings.
On 16 January 2025, both main dewatering pumps failed, causing the underground mine to flood and an indefinite suspension of operations before Trigon signed an agreement to sell its interest in the mine to Kamino Minerals in May 2025.
The sale allowed Trigon to move to new projects while Horizon aims to restart mining in 2026.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na
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