Northern Graphite has completed relocating its processing plant to Okanjande mine near Otjiwarongo as it prepares to restart mining operations by the end of 2027.
The Canadian company produces natural graphite from two mines in Canada and owns the Okanjande project, located 20km south of Otjiwarongo in the Otjozondjupa region.
“Okanjande hosts a large graphite resource in one of Africa’s most politically stable jurisdictions, with access to a deep-water port that provides substantial competitive advantages over many competing projects,” Northern Graphite chief executive Hugues Jacquemin announced on Tuesday.
The processing plant was formerly located 85km away at Okorusu.
The company decided to move the plant in 2023 to reduce transport logistics and associated costs.
The company will now reassemble the plant at Okanjande and raise capital to finance restarting mining operations by the end of next year.
Northern Graphite says it is pursuing an integrated mine-to-battery graphite business.
The company is developing a battery anode material facility (BAM) in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, in partnership with a Saudi company.
“The Yanbu project is designed to create a fully integrated mine-to-BAM supply chain and position the company as a global leader in secure, non-China battery materials,” it says on its website.
The operations in Namibia are part of this greater strategy, Jacquemin says.
“Completing the plant relocation further derisks the restart strategy and positions Northern Graphite to move quickly to support secure graphite supply chains independent of China,” he says.
