Arcadia Minerals has opened talks with European development finance institutions and prospective strategic partners over funding its Swanson Tantalum Mine in southern Namibia, creating an alternative route to development while negotiations with China’s Xinhai remain unresolved.
The Australian-listed company disclosed in its 2026 annual report that it is engaging potential European financiers under the European Union’s Global Gateway for Raw Materials initiative as it continues negotiations with Hong Kong Xinhai Mining Services Limited.
The move gives Arcadia another potential funding pathway for Swanson, which is fully permitted and construction-ready but still requires a financing and offtake package before development can proceed.
“In parallel, Arcadia has been engaging with European Development Finance Institutions and prospective strategic partners under the European Union’s Global Gateway for Raw Materials initiative as an alternative funding and development pathway,” the company said.
Arcadia cautioned that the discussions were not certain to result in a definitive agreement.
The European discussions come eight months after Arcadia announced a proposed transaction with Xinhai that could ultimately give the Chinese mining services company up to 70% of Orange River Pegmatite (Pty) Ltd, the Arcadia subsidiary that holds Swanson.
Under a binding term sheet announced on 2 February, Xinhai received a 45-day exclusive option to negotiate a definitive agreement and paid Arcadia an A$50,000 exclusivity fee. The proposed transaction envisaged Xinhai earning its interest in stages by funding, or providing services for, the construction and commissioning of a gravity processing plant at Mining Licence 223 and undertaking exploration on EPL5047.
The plant would have a capacity of at least that contemplated in Arcadia’s 2023 definitive feasibility study, while Arcadia would be free-carried if Xinhai subsequently expanded the processing plant or undertook further exploration. Its interest in exploration over EPL5047 would also be free-carried through completion of a definitive feasibility study.
However, the 45-day exclusivity period expired in March without the parties reaching a definitive agreement. Arcadia said it had provided Xinhai with the technical documentation and supporting information required for its evaluation and was awaiting the Chinese company’s position on moving negotiations forward.
The discussions continued through April and remained unresolved when Arcadia’s financial year closed on 30 June. By then, Xinhai had completed its technical review, while Arcadia continued working towards a financing and offtake package for Swanson.
The annual report, signed on 30 September, provides a further update on negotiations after the end of the financial year, saying Arcadia and Xinhai have now prepared draft definitive terms that take account of the recovery in tantalum benchmark prices and increasing demand associated with processing requirements for artificial intelligence data centres and processing capacity.
Negotiations towards a definitive funding and development agreement are continuing, indicating that Xinhai remains a potential development partner despite the expiry of its original exclusivity period. Arcadia’s parallel engagement with European institutions, however, means the company is no longer pursuing only the Xinhai route as it seeks to move Swanson into production.
The company did not identify the European development finance institutions or strategic partners it is engaging, nor did it disclose the amount of financing being discussed. It also did not say whether a European-backed funding arrangement would replace the proposed Xinhai transaction or could be structured alongside it.
Swanson is Arcadia’s most advanced Namibian project and already has a mineral resource, ore reserve and completed definitive feasibility study.
Its mineral resource remains unchanged from 2022 at 2.584 million tonnes, comprising 1.145 million tonnes in the indicated category and 1.439 million tonnes in the inferred category. The project’s probable ore reserve stands at 866,000 tonnes grading 454 parts per million tantalum pentoxide, containing an estimated 393 tonnes of tantalum pentoxide.
Arcadia said there had been no change to either the Swanson resource or ore reserve during the year ended 30 June 2026.
The company’s 2023 definitive feasibility study remains the technical basis for the proposed development, with Arcadia saying the material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the ore reserve continue to apply.
With the technical work largely in place, financing has become central to moving Swanson towards construction, particularly because Arcadia does not have the balance sheet to fund the development independently.
The company held A$434,566 in cash at 30 June, up sharply from just A$1,990 a year earlier, while its net loss narrowed to A$284,882 from A$888,020. Net assets increased slightly to A$11.64 million from A$11.50 million.
Arcadia acknowledges in the annual report that it has no operating revenue and is unlikely to generate any until it successfully explores, evaluates, develops, and brings its projects into production. Although the directors believe it can raise additional capital, the company cautions that there is no assurance funding will be available when required or on favourable terms.
That position underpins Arcadia’s broader strategy of bringing outside capital into its Namibian projects rather than relying heavily on new equity from its own shareholders. The company says its strategy is focused on maximising the value of its Namibian assets while minimising shareholder dilution through farm-in and joint-venture arrangements.
It has already followed that model at the Karibib Copper-Gold Project, where Kaoko Metals can earn up to 100% of Arcadia’s interest through a four-stage farm-in involving cash payments, shares and a retained royalty. Completion of that agreement was confirmed in April, triggering an initial A$150,000 cash payment to Arcadia, part of which is payable to minority shareholders.
Swanson is now the more immediate test of that strategy. Xinhai remains at the negotiating table and has prepared draft definitive terms, but Arcadia’s decision to simultaneously approach European development finance institutions and strategic partners gives the company an alternative route as it tries to secure the capital needed to turn its construction-ready tantalum project into a producing mine.
