Japan’s state-backed resource agency, the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), has become one of Namibia’s most strategic mining partners, with interests stretching from rare earths to copper.
Through direct funding and contractual entitlements, JOGMEC has established itself as a pivotal player in helping Namibia advance projects critical to the global energy transition while ensuring Japan’s access to secure mineral supplies.
At the centre of this partnership is the Lofdal heavy rare earths project in the Kunene Region, where JOGMEC is working alongside Namibia Critical Metals Inc.
Lofdal is one of the world’s only xenotime-dominant deposits under development, containing high-value rare earth elements such as dysprosium and terbium, which are vital for electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence technologies.
In 2020, JOGMEC entered into a staged earn-in joint venture, allowing it to secure up to a 50% interest in the project by contributing approximately C$20 million, equivalent to N$250 million, in exploration and development costs.
By 2025, JOGMEC had already spent more than C$16 million, approximately N$200 million, on funding drilling, metallurgical testing, and bulk sampling.
The investment has resulted in a significant upgrade of Lofdal’s resources. A 2024 update elevated the measured and indicated category to 58.5 million tonnes at 0.16% TREO, up from 44.8 million tonnes previously.
Within this category, dysprosium oxide increased from 4,060 tonnes to 4,503 tonnes, while terbium oxide grew from 620 tonnes to 692 tonnes.
The inferred resource almost doubled to 14.9 million tonnes at 0.15% TREO. At Area 4 alone, the measured and indicated resources total 55.8 million tonnes, grading 0.16 per cent TREO, which corresponds to 89,400 tonnes of contained TREO.
Additionally, there are inferred resources of 10.5 million tonnes, grading 0.14 per cent TREO, equivalent to 15,000 tonnes. At Area 2B, the indicated resource is 2.7 million tonnes at 0.16% TREO for 4,400 tonnes, with an additional 4.4 million tonnes inferred.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment has projected that Lofdal could produce around 2,000 tonnes of TREO annually, including about 117 tonnes of dysprosium and 17.5 tonnes of terbium, over an initial mine life of 16 years.
Mining is expected to commence around 2026. This positions Namibia as one of only a handful of countries outside China capable of supplying heavy rare earths at a commercial scale.
JOGMEC has also left its mark on Namibia’s copper sector through its earlier joint venture with Nexa Resources on the Otavi copper project, a 1,776-square-kilometre licence block in the Otavi Mountainland.
Although JOGMEC did not directly fund large-scale exploration there, its agreement with Nexa entitled it to nearly half of the financial upside if the project was sold.
When Nexa decided to divest the asset to Midas Minerals through its subsidiary, Midnab Resources, the arrangement ensured that JOGMEC would receive 49 per cent of the proceeds.
This covers the US$3 million upfront payment, approximately N$55.5 million, and up to US$7 million, approximately N$129.5 million, in contingent milestone payments, meaning JOGMEC could ultimately collect as much as US$10.9 million, or approximately N$206 million.
While Lofdal highlights JOGMEC’s willingness to fund exploration and development to secure strategic minerals directly, Otavi demonstrates how the agency structures agreements to retain financial exposure even without a direct operating role. In both cases, Namibia benefits from capital, technical expertise and international visibility. At the same time, Japan secures long-term interests in two metals central to its industrial and energy security strategies: rare earths and copper.
