The long-dormant Okanjande Graphite Project in central Namibia is once again in the spotlight after Canadian miner Northern Graphite Corporation signed a major investment agreement that could materially reshape the project’s future.
On 14 January 2026, Northern and Al Obeikan Group for Investment Company, a diversified industrial group based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, signed a term sheet to jointly develop a US$200 million battery anode material (BAM) plant in Yanbu Industrial City on the Red Sea.
The deal envisages the creation of a joint venture company (JVCo) that will be 51% owned by Al Obeikan and 49% by Northern.
It marks a strategic step toward building a globally integrated graphite supply chain.
The proposed Battery Anode Material facility will have an initial capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year, with the potential to scale further as global demand for graphite anode materials grows.
Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with first-phase production targeted for 2028.
Central to the arrangement is a commitment by the JVCo to conclude long-term offtake agreements for up to 50,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate from Okanjande, which was placed on care and maintenance in 2018.
This offtake promise effectively anchors upstream Namibian graphite supply to the downstream processing facility in Saudi Arabia, providing a clear commercial pathway for Okanjande’s restart.
Okanjande was acquired by Northern from French miner Imerys in 2022 and holds a substantial measured and indicated resource.
However, the project has yet to return to sustained production since initial operations were paused.
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) filed in August 2022 outlines potential production at roughly 31,000 tonnes per year over a ten-year mine life, and the company has said it intends to prepare a new technical report to assess higher production rates aligned with the joint venture’s requirements.
Northern’s CEO, Hugues Jacquemin, described the joint venture as a defining moment in the company’s evolution.
He said the partnership with Al Obeikan accelerates Northern’s transformation from a pure graphite miner into a fully integrated battery material producer, leveraging the Saudi partnership’s scale, financing strength and strategic location while advancing the restart and potential expansion of the Okanjande mine.
Al Obeikan’s Chief Executive, Abdallah Obeikan, said the collaboration aligns with the Kingdom’s ambitions to build advanced material supply chains that serve global battery manufacturers and reinforce the resilience of international supply chains.
The integrated model envisions graphite mined and concentrated at Okanjande being shipped to Yanbu, where it will be purified, spheronised and coated into battery anode material, with additional research and product qualification support drawn from Northern’s laboratory facilities in Germany.
The Okanjande project’s renewed profile comes as global demand for anode materials continues to rise with the accelerating adoption of electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Graphite remains a key component in lithium-ion batteries, and the deal specifically targets securing supply chains outside China, the dominant producer of both raw and processed graphite.
The Saudi deal also brings a potential royalty structure for Northern on the net sales of battery anode materials produced by the JVCo, in addition to its equity stake — recognising Northern’s role in technology, product development and customer qualification pipelines.
Restarting and expanding Okanjande will require investment beyond the BAM plant itself.
African Business reporting suggests Northern is planning to invest around US$35 million to restart operations at the mine, including building a new tailings dam, solar power infrastructure, and upgraded water connections, which would support both local processing and export readiness.
An estimated 200–300 jobs could be created locally once operations resume.
Challenges remain, including infrastructure constraints in Namibia, such as power and water availability, which partly explain why the downstream processing component is being located in Saudi Arabia rather than locally.
Still, the Saudi partnership provides Okanjande with a clear commercial anchor and a defined destination for its concentrate. This factor has been missing since it was placed on care and maintenance.
Completion of the joint venture and related agreements remains subject to definitive documentation, the conclusion of long-term offtake contracts with battery manufacturers, feasibility studies and regulatory approvals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A final feasibility study for the BAM plant is targeted for completion by mid-2026.
What once was a graphite operation mothballed amid weak markets now stands at the centre of a globally integrated battery materials strategy.
The Saudi-linked deal has injected new life into Okanjande, offering Namibia’s graphite sector a renewed pathway to participation in the competitive value chain for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage.
The Okanjande deposit hosts about 1.6 million tonnes of battery-grade graphite in measured and indicated resources, providing a substantive base for future production.
The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) filed in August 2022 under NI 43-101 projected a restart with average annual production of approximately 31,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate over a ten-year mine life.
Capital expenditure for the restart was estimated at US$34.4 million, based on Northern’s stated development pathway for the project.
Earlier PEA results outlined a C1 production cost of about US$775 per tonne of graphite concentrate, a post-tax internal rate of return of approximately 62 per cent, and a post-tax net present value of about US$65 million, with a payback period of under two years based on a ten-year mine life and a graphite price assumption of US$1,500 per tonne.
Under the recent Saudi-linked term sheet, the joint venture has advanced negotiations toward up to 50,000 tonnes per year of purchase agreements for graphite concentrate, providing a robust commercial outlet for Okanjande’s product once restarted.
Combined with Northern’s wider business, the successful restart and expansion of Okanjande would place the company among the largest non-Chinese natural graphite suppliers, especially if integrated with downstream battery anode material facilities in Europe and the Middle East.
