The Dordabis Iron Ore Project is seeking at least N$5.9 billion in capital for its first two development phases, according to Lodestone Namibia and its partner Hyron Africa, who say the investment would anchor one of the country’s most ambitious community-focused and green-integrated mining ventures.
The funding envelope includes USD 90 million (about N$1.55 billion) for the Mini phase and USD 250 million (about N$4.30 billion) for the Midi expansion.
In contrast, the Maxi phase remains uncosted and is expected to raise the total significantly once full estimates are completed.
Job creation lies at the centre of the project’s social licence. Lodestone and Hyron forecast around 300 direct jobs and 2,500 indirect jobs during the Mini phase, expanding to 600 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs in the Midi stage, and rising further to 1,000 direct and 8,000 indirect jobs once the long-range Maxi phase is fully developed.
This staged employment footprint is among the largest projected for any single mining project in Namibia, reflecting a deliberate strategy to embed the mine deeply in local economies over several decades.
Lodestone Namibia occupies a unique position: it is Namibia’s only dedicated iron ore development company and the sole operator with a declared high-grade iron ore reserve.
The Dordabis Project, located in central Namibia, has now placed the country on what the company calls “the Atlantic Iron Ore Map,” with plans to supply up to four million tonnes of 66% Fe concentrate annually at full potential.
The project’s minable reserves hold more than 29 million tonnes of high-grade concentrate at 66% Fe with low impurities (1.9% SiO₂ and 0.44% Al₂O₃).
Lodestone further expects that about 100 million tonnes of scalable high-grade concentrate could reasonably be delineated within the same exploration property as drilling and modelling progress.
This geological confidence stems from more than a decade of exploration, during which Lodestone advanced drilling, mapping, and beneficiation work that repeatedly confirmed magnetite’s ability to be upgraded into a premium green-steel feedstock.
Dordabis is therefore positioned not as a traditional bulk-ore mine but as a future supplier of magnetite concentrate specifically suited to directly reduced iron (DRI) and low-carbon steel plants across Atlantic markets.
Its partnership with Hyron Africa strengthens this strategic direction. Lodestone retains ownership of the resource and leads operations, while Hyron provides advanced engineering concepts, mine-to-port optimisation, green-energy integration and investment modelling.
The two are not in an ownership structure but in a development collaboration aimed at structuring Dordabis as a bankable, climate-aligned iron ore project. Lodestone anchors the Namibian footprint; Hyron designs the long-term framework for a green-mining and green-export system.
The Mini phase, planned for 2023 to 2025, requires USD 90 million — roughly N$1.55 billion.
It is designed to produce 0.85 million tonnes per year of 66% concentrate and generate between US$35 million and US$50 million (N$600–860 million) in annual EBITDA.
The Mini operation uses 64 GWh of electricity annually, with concentrate trucked to a rail siding before export through Walvis Bay.
If green hydrogen and electrified logistics are deployed, the developers estimate roughly 18,100 tonnes of CO₂ could be abated per year.
The Midi phase, projected for 2025 to 2030, requires a further US$250 million — around N$4.30 billion. Production rises to two million tonnes per year, pushing expected EBITDA to US$90–120 million (N$1.55–2.06 billion).
Power demand increases to 200 GWh annually, and a slurry pipeline replaces trucking as the main link to the rail network. Annual carbon-abatement potential grows to about 45,300 tonnes.
The Maxi phase, planned from 2030 to 2060, represents the project’s ultimate horizon.
Although capital costs remain to be determined, it aims to produce 4 million tonnes of 66% Fe concentrate per year — consistent with the declared 29 million tonnes of reserves and the additional 100 million tonnes expected to be delineated.
Expected EBITDA ranges between US$200 million and US$250 million (N$3.44–4.30 billion).
Annual energy needs rise to 400 GWh, and green-energy systems could help avoid nearly 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.
Across all phases, concentrate will be transported by rail to Walvis Bay for export into Atlantic steel markets. What expands with each stage is the production scale, the job-creation footprint, the environmental contribution and the geological confidence behind Namibia’s entry into the global iron ore sector.
With declared reserves, substantial upside potential and a structured pathway to four million tonnes per year, Lodestone and Hyron Africa present Dordabis as a long-term industrial project extending to 2060 — one built on high-grade magnetite, green-energy ambitions and a growing recognition that Namibia now sits firmly on the Atlantic Iron Ore Map.
