Namibia’s uranium belt contains more than just uranium. Across the Erongo and central desert regions, every significant uranium deposit carries traces of other elements—some chemically bound to uranium, others occurring as natural impurities.
These by-products—vanadium, molybdenum, thorium, fluorine, copper, and rare earth elements—offer both scientific and potential economic value, although only one, vanadium, is close to recoverable levels.
Namibia’s uranium deposits fall into three main geological types: calcrete-hosted, alaskite-hosted, and metasomatic or vein-type systems. Each has a distinct chemical signature and varying by-product potential.
The calcrete-hosted deposits—Langer Heinrich, Tumas, Tubas, and the dormant Trekkopje project—are the most favourable for by-product recovery. Their uranium mineralisation occurs in carnotite, a uranium-vanadium oxide mineral that precipitated in ancient river systems called palaeochannels.
Because vanadium and uranium are chemically linked in the same mineral structure, both dissolve during alkaline leaching. Laboratory testwork and pilot trials at several Namibian mines have shown vanadium recoveries between 55 and 75 per cent using existing processing conditions.
At Langer Heinrich, owned by Paladin Energy, vanadium recovery was tested during the mine’s first decade of operation.
Paladin’s feasibility studies indicated that a modified circuit could recover up to 75 per cent of contained vanadium, producing roughly 1.3 million pounds of vanadium pentoxide per year alongside 5.9 million pounds of uranium oxide.
The company, however, has not included this option in its 2025 restart plan. The Langer Heinrich orebody also hosts a declared vanadium mineral resource of 38.8 million pounds V₂O₅, underscoring its long-term potential.
At Tumas, operated by Deep Yellow Limited, metallurgical testwork confirmed vanadium solubility in the alkaline leach circuit.
The company’s 2023 Definitive Feasibility Study projected a potential by-product output of 1.18 million pounds of vanadium pentoxide per year at an assumed 70 per cent recovery.
However, this option was excluded from the project’s base financial model.
The Tumas ore reserve stands at 79.5 million pounds of uranium oxide grading 298 parts per million, with total resources of 132.9 million pounds at 245 parts per million.
Trekkopje, previously developed by Orano Mining Namibia, was designed as a large-scale heap-leach operation with average grades of 300 to 400 parts per million vanadium pentoxide.
Pilot-scale testing in 2011 indicated uranium recoveries of 80 per cent and vanadium recoveries near 60 per cent, but the project was placed on care and maintenance in 2012 before commercial production began.
Tubas, part of Deep Yellow’s palaeochannel system adjacent to Tumas, contains similar carnotite mineralisation and vanadium content but remains at the exploration stage.
When potential vanadium recovery figures from all calcrete-hosted projects are aggregated, Namibia’s combined by-product potential stands at roughly 1.1 million pounds of vanadium pentoxide per year, based solely on Deep Yellow’s published projection for Tumas. Langer Heinrich and Trekkopje have not declared current production rates for vanadium, although Paladin’s 38.8-million-pound vanadium resource and Orano’s pilot work indicate additional unquantified capacity.
Namibia’s alaskite-hosted uranium deposits—Rössing, Husab, and Etango—contain uranium in granitic rocks enriched in uraninite and coffinite.
These deposits hold trace amounts of molybdenum, thorium, and fluorine, but none at recoverable levels. At Rössing, molybdenum concentrations range from 30 to 60 parts per million, and thorium is typically below 20 parts per million.
Processing tests have shown molybdenum recovery potential below 40 per cent, which is not commercially viable.
Husab’s ore has similar trace element chemistry but is processed primarily for uranium recovery, achieving around 90 per cent recovery and yielding approximately six to seven million pounds per year.
At Etango, Bannerman Energy has reported low levels of molybdenum and thorium but excluded these from its economic model.
Metasomatic and vein-type uranium occurrences—such as Omahola, Klein Spitzkoppe, and Mile 72—sometimes contain associated copper, lead, zinc, and rare earth elements.
Assays from Omahola have reported copper grades up to 0.2 per cent and uranium grades between 0.03 and 0.05 per cent uranium oxide.
However, metallurgical studies indicated copper recoveries below 40 per cent, making separate extraction uneconomic. Rare earth elements occur only in trace quantities, with no declared resources.
Across the country, the pattern is consistent. Calcrete-hosted deposits such as Langer Heinrich, Tumas, and Trekkopje contain 300 to 500 parts per million vanadium, with projected recoveries between 55 and 75 per cent. Alaskite-hosted deposits such as Rössing, Husab, and Etango contain molybdenum at 30 to 60 parts per million and thorium at less than 20 parts per million, while metasomatic deposits such as Omahola and Klein Spitzkoppe show up to 0.2 per cent copper and trace rare earth elements.
Only vanadium has demonstrated both technical feasibility and potential economic value as a uranium by-product in Namibia.
Its chemistry allows it to be leached and recovered with minimal change to existing processing plants.
If all known vanadium-bearing uranium projects were to implement recovery circuits, Namibia’s aggregate vanadium output could potentially exceed 2 million pounds per year.
However, current confirmed projections stand at around 1.1 million pounds per year from Tumas alone.
Other by-products remain of academic and geological interest but are commercially insignificant.
Molybdenum and thorium grades are low, copper is sporadic, and rare earth elements occur only in trace form.
Their recovery would require new processing infrastructure and favourable price conditions to offset the cost.
If future uranium producers incorporate by-product recovery, vanadium will lead the way.
It already occurs in measurable quantities, its recovery is technically proven, and its demand is rising in the steel and battery industries.
Namibia’s uranium mines may therefore evolve into multi-metal operations, linking nuclear fuel production with critical mineral supply for the global energy transition. For now, vanadium remains the country’s most promising companion to the uranium that has shaped its desert mining economy for nearly fifty years.
