Name of the Project
Lofdal heavy rare earths project.

Location
About 25 km north-west of Khorixas, in the Kunene region of north-western Namibia.

Project Owner/s
The project is being advanced by Namibia Critical Metals Inc, the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation. Jogmec has earned a 40% project interest and can increase this to 50% by funding C$23-million in exploration and development expenditure. Toyota Tsusho is participating within Jogmec's ownership interest. A 5% interest is held for the benefit of historically disadvantaged Namibians.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS), completed in December 2025, proposes conventional openpit mining of Area 4 and Area 2B. The mine plan is based on 32.01-million tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 0.176% total rare-earth oxides (TREO), a 13-year mine life and total run-of-mine feed of 3.01-million tonnes a year.

High-grade material will be fed directly to flotation, while low-grade material will be upgraded using X-ray transmission sorting before flotation. The PFS flowsheet envisaged treating flotation concentrate in a hydrometallurgical refinery using acid bake, leaching, impurity removal and precipitation. The expanded DFS programme will evaluate an integrated flowsheet producing separate light rare earth carbonate and heavy rare-earth carbonate products in Namibia.

Average yearly production is expected to be about 2 000 t of TREO, or 1 478 t excluding lanthanum and cerium, including 119 t of dysprosium, 17.8 t of terbium and 841 t of yttrium.

Potential Job Creation
About 300 jobs during construction and 243 operational positions.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The PFS base case has a pretax net present value (NPV), at a 5% discount rate, of $389.2-million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 21.7%, and an after-tax NPV of $275.5-million and an IRR of 19%. The after-tax payback period is 4.2 years. 

The divergent pricing case has a pretax NPV of $1.25-billion and an IRR of 44.1%, and an after-tax NPV of $747.9-million and an IRR of 34.8%. The after-tax payback period is 2.75 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital is estimated at $273.4-million. Total capital is estimated at $347.93-million, including a $57.36-million contingency.

Planned Start/End Date
The definitive feasibility study (DFS) is targeted for completion in the second quarter of 2027. The PFS financial model assumes production starts in 2029 and an initial 13-year mine life.

Latest Developments
The joint management committee overseeing Lofdal has approved the next phase of the DFS, including up to about C$11-million in additional project funding.
SGS Canada has been awarded the first major metallurgical and geometallurgical contracts under the expanded DFS programme. The work includes a 30 t continuous pilot-scale flotation programme, an integrated hydrometallurgical pilot plant, rare earth separation testwork and a 98-sample geometallurgical programme.

The programme is intended to validate the complete processing flowsheet from run-of-mine ore to separate light and heavy rare earth carbonate products, generate data for commercial plant design and project financing, optimise recoveries and operating costs, and advance amendments to environmental and other permits.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SGS Bateman (PFS lead consultant); SGS Lakefield (PFS process development); SGS Canada (DFS metallurgical, hydrometallurgical, separation and geometallurgical programmes); MSA Group (geology and mineral resources); Qubeka Consultants (mine planning and reserves); SRK (geotechnical); SLR Namibia (environment and water); Knight Piésold (tailings); and CREO Engineering Solutions (infrastructure, water and power).

Contact Details for Project Information
Namibia Critical Metals, tel +1 902 835 8760 or email info@NamibiaCMI.com.