Chinese mining giant Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) has taken a major step into Namibia’s critical minerals sector by signing a binding agreement to acquire the advanced Opuwo Cobalt-Copper Project from Australian-listed Celsius Resources for US$15 million (about A$21.7 million).
The deal marks one of the most significant recent investments in Namibia’s emerging battery minerals industry and hands the development of one of the country’s largest undeveloped cobalt-copper deposits to one of China’s biggest state-owned mining groups.
Located in the Kunene Region, the Opuwo Project hosts a substantial 225.5-million-tonne Mineral Resource grading 0.12% cobalt, 0.43% copper and 0.54% zinc, containing an estimated 259,000 tonnes of cobalt and 970,000 tonnes of copper.
Of the total resource, 45.3 million tonnes are classified in the indicated category, while 180.2 million tonnes remain in the inferred category, providing considerable scope for future resource conversion and development.
Under the agreement, Chinalco (Xiong’an) Mining Corporation, a specialised international base metals subsidiary of Chinalco, will acquire Celsius’ entire 95% shareholding in Opuwo Cobalt Holdings through its wholly owned subsidiary Opuwo Cobalt Pty Ltd, together with an associated intercompany loan.
The transaction represents a significant shift in ownership for a project that Celsius has advanced over several years through exploration, resource definition and technical studies.
Rather than developing the project itself, the company has opted to monetise the Namibian asset to concentrate on its flagship copper-gold portfolio in the Philippines.
Celsius managing director Bardin Davis said the agreement would allow the company to redirect capital towards the development of its MCB Copper-Gold Project once an ongoing arbitration involving Makilala Mining Company is resolved.
He said Chinalco possessed both the financial capacity and technical expertise required to unlock the full potential of the Namibian project.
“We believe that Chinalco (Xiong’an) Mining is well positioned to progress the Opuwo Project, which will deliver substantial benefits to Namibia and the local community,” Davis said.
For Chinalco, the acquisition strengthens its international portfolio of strategic base- and battery-metal assets at a time when global demand for copper and cobalt continues to grow, driven by the energy transition, electric vehicles, and renewable energy technologies.
A senior representative of Chinalco described Opuwo as a significant greenfield cobalt-copper project with considerable exploration and development potential, while acknowledging Celsius’s work in advancing the project to its current stage.
Importantly, Chinalco is not waiting for the transaction to close before committing capital to the project.
As part of the agreement, the Chinese company has committed to spend at least US$750,000 on exploration and a further US$250,000 on metallurgical test work while regulatory approvals are being secured.
The work programme will support the renewal of the Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) and Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), with technical results also being shared with Celsius during the transition period.
The acquisition remains subject to several regulatory and corporate approvals before it can be completed.
These include approval by Celsius shareholders under AIM listing rules, renewal of the project’s EPL and environmental clearance, approval from the Namibian Competition Commission and the Bank of Namibia for exchange control purposes, as well as regulatory clearances from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce and State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
The transaction must also receive a waiver of pre-emptive rights held by the project’s 5% minority shareholder.
The parties have set 29 December 2026 as the target completion date, although this may be extended by up to two months should outstanding conditions remain unresolved.
Should the agreement ultimately fail, Chinalco will be prevented from acquiring mining rights within the Opuwo Project area or within a two-kilometre radius of the licence boundary for three years, thereby protecting the strategic value of the asset.
The sale represents a substantial return relative to the carrying value of the project in Celsius’ accounts. At the end of the 2025 financial year, the Opuwo Project was recorded at approximately A$3 million, with only a modest operational loss.
The agreed purchase price of approximately A$21.7 million therefore crystallises significant value for Celsius while transferring responsibility for future project development to one of the world’s largest mining companies.
The transaction introduces another major Chinese state-owned investor into the country’s rapidly expanding critical minerals sector. With its large cobalt, copper, and zinc resources, Opuwo has long been regarded as one of Namibia’s most strategically important undeveloped battery-mineral projects.
Chinalco’s financial commitment to immediate exploration and metallurgical work signals that the company intends to advance the project beyond resource definition towards the next stages of technical evaluation and, potentially, future mine development.
