Bannerman Energy has signed an agreement to acquire a 41.8% stake in Namibia Critical Metals (NMI), which owns a portfolio of critical metal projects in Namibia including interests in rare earth elements, cobalt, copper, lithium, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, nickel, and gold.

The acquisition increases Bannerman’s estate in Namibia, already having its existing Etango Uranium project in the Erongo region of Namibia. At the foreground of NMI’s operations are two advanced-stage projects, the Lofdal heavy rare earths (HREE) and Epembe Ta-Nb projects. Lofdal is NMI’s flagship resource under a joint venture agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).

Heavy rare earth elements like dysprosium and terbium have increasing importance in new energy technologies. Specifically, their use improves the high-temperature operation of rare earth NdFeB permanent magnets necessary in modern drivetrain motors of electric vehicles. A large majority of the world’s HREEs come from the ion-adsorption deposits in southern China and, more recently, Myanmar. However, due to restrictions on ore production by the Chinese Government and cross-border volatility with Myanmar, downstream processing facilities have struggled to maintain a stable HREE supply.  

With continued growth in demand for Dy and Tb expected with vehicle electrification pinned against tight supply in China’s refineries, new REE mining projects will need to come online. However, most of the existing rare earth projects focus on the recovery of LREEs (e.g., neodymium – the main ingredient in NdFeB magnets), while NMI‘s Lofdal deposit is one of a handful of HREE projects globally.