Northern Graphite says the Okanjande Project represents an opportunity to substantially increase graphite production at a lower cost and with a shorter time to market than most competing projects.
The Okanjande mine and the Okorusu processing project went into care and maintenance in 2018 before Northern Graphite’s acquisition from the Imery’s Group in 2022.
During the third quarter of 2023, Northern Graphite placed Okanjande on care and maintenance.
According to Northern Graphite’s Audited Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024, the company continues to evaluate options to fund the Okanjande project through the use of a royalty/stream/debt structure and equity contributed by a strategic partner without having to go to the market at current share prices.
Northern Graphite says the battery-grade graphite ore from Okanjande is within easy maritime access to European and North American markets and is intended to supply Northern’s planned BAM facilities in France and Canada.
On April 16, 2025, Northern Graphite said the battery-grade graphite from the Okanjande project would be upgraded into Battery Anode Material in a facility in France for an estimated investment of €159 million.
Under the project’s scope, pre-purification, milling and shaping of the graphite would occur in Namibia and purification and coating would occur at a new facility in France.
The mining of graphite at Okanjande is not covered under the scope of the Strategic Project. However, Northern intends to file a subsequent proposal, including extraction activities at the Namibia site.
In December 2023, Northern Graphite indicated the intention to start production at the Okanjande Project by the end of 2024 once financing became available.
Northern Graphite said at the time that maintaining Okanjande and Okorusu cost US$400,000.
In August 2023, Northern Graphite said a preliminary economic assessment showed that it would be cheaper to operate the plant if moved to Okonjande, albeit the envisaged higher capital costs.
The report also concluded that the project hosts a weathered resource of 5.9Mt containing 248kt of graphite in the measured and indicated category, 0.5Mt of inferred resources containing 17 Mt graphite, a transitional resource of 1.2Mt containing 53kt of graphite in the measured and indicated categories and 0.1Mt of inferred resources containing 2kt of graphite.
There is a fresh rock resource of 24.2Mt containing 1.3Mt of graphite in the measured and indicated categories and 7.2Mt of inferred resources with 0.4Mt of contained graphite.
The preliminary economic assessment is based on only processing 6.1MT of measured and indicated resources (.34Mt of contained graphite), producing an average of 31,000 tons per year of concentrate over a 10-year mine life.
