African Critical Elements (ACE) plans to revive the Karibib lithium project and potentially bring it into production within three years after acquiring an 80% interest in the Namibian operation through its takeover of Lepidico’s Canadian subsidiary.
The company, which announced the acquisition on 21 October 2026, intends to update the project’s earlier feasibility studies, review its financial and development plans, and begin with the concentration of lithium-bearing ore in Namibia.
ACE has also identified an existing stockpile of approximately 24,000 tonnes of beneficiated lepidolite concentrate that it expects to sell partly to help finance the project’s development.
The concentrate, which has an estimated average grade of 1.38% lithium oxide, forms part of a larger historical mined stockpile of approximately 400,000 tonnes included in the project’s mineral resources.
The acquisition gives ACE control of a project that has already reached the definitive feasibility study stage, holds an existing mining licence and contains significant lithium, rubidium and caesium resources.
ACE acquired 100% of Lepidico (Canada) Inc. and subsequently acquired all of the subsidiary’s secured debts from the existing lender. Through its ownership structure, Lepidico Canada holds an indirect 80% interest in Lepidico Chemicals Namibia, which owns the Karibib project.
The remaining 20% of Lepidico Chemicals Namibia is held by Huni-Urib, a Namibian shareholder.
The transaction received approval from the Namibian Competition Commission following a public hearing in September and a decision in October 2026.
ACE executive chairman John Wisbey described the acquisition as the company’s first transaction and said the project could be brought into production with additional investment.
“This acquisition is ACE’s first transaction but a very significant one. Through this single transaction to acquire Lepidico’s upstream exploration and development arm, we have acquired a lithium, rubidium, and caesium asset in Namibia that reached the Definitive Feasibility Study stage under JORC in 2020 and announced a substantially upgraded Mineral Resource estimate in January 2023. Moreover, the project has already attracted around £13m in investment over the last 10 years and, with appropriate further investment, could be in production within three years.
“ACE will bring new jobs to Namibia by reviving and re-energising the historic and promising project at Karibib, which is also expected to generate tax revenues for Namibia from exports and employment and, in time, from profits. We look forward to a strengthened relationship with Huni-Urib, the Namibian minority shareholder that owns the other 20% of Lepidico Namibia, and to a strong working relationship with the Namibian authorities and the wider local community.”
Development plans
The company’s immediate priority is to revisit technical and financial work completed between 2020 and 2022 before determining the investment required to restart development.
Karibib reached the definitive feasibility study stage in 2020, followed by front-end engineering and design in 2022.
The 2020 study estimated a net present value of US$221 million, based on an assumed lithium hydroxide price of US$13,677 per tonne. However, ACE intends to update the study to reflect changes in lithium prices, development costs and the proposed processing arrangements.
The company said it would review the project’s financial and execution plans over the coming months, with domestic lepidolite concentration forming the first stage of development.
The announcement does not disclose a revised capital expenditure estimate, a construction start date or the amount of financing required to achieve production.
ACE has already provided funding for additional work at the project. During mid-2026, it financed drilling for lithium and gold within Exclusive Prospecting Licence EPL5439 and supported an application to renew the licence.
The Karibib project comprises the Rubicon and Helikon mining areas, covered by mining licence ML204, as well as the adjoining exploration licence EPL5439, which is prospective for lithium, caesium, tantalum and gold.
The company expects to use part of the existing lepidolite concentrate stockpile as a source of development funding, subject to the arrangements contemplated under the mining licence.
However, it has not disclosed how much concentrate it intends to sell, the anticipated proceeds, potential buyers or when sales could begin.
Resources and previous investment
The acquisition brings ACE a project with a long history of exploration, technical studies and investment.
Lepidico acquired the project through its 2019 takeover of Desert Lion Energy in a transaction involving shares and other securities valued at A$22.9 million, equivalent to approximately £12.2 million at the exchange rate used in ACE’s announcement.
Following the acquisition, Lepidico invested a further A$12.1 million, approximately £6.4 million, in Karibib, excluding central group overheads. The expenditure included drilling, environmental and social studies, feasibility work and resource expansion.
ACE separately states that around £13 million has been invested in the project over the past decade.
The 2020 definitive feasibility study reported ore reserves of 11.85 million tonnes, while a January 2023 mineral resource update provided additional information on the project’s lithium, rubidium and caesium potential.
The historical resource estimate reported 46,733 tonnes of contained lithium oxide, 22,822 tonnes of rubidium oxide and 3,076 tonnes of caesium oxide in measured and indicated resources.
ACE describes Karibib as containing Africa’s largest declared rubidium resource and one of the largest outside China. It also considers the project’s caesium resource significant among deposits controlled by companies outside China.
The company estimates that Karibib’s caesium resource is equivalent to approximately one year’s global demand, although this is a company assessment rather than an independently verified market calculation.
Rubidium and caesium have applications in specialised industrial products, including electronics, speciality glass, atomic clocks and oil and gas completion fluids, while lithium remains an important material for rechargeable batteries.
ACE believes the project’s combination of minerals provides opportunities beyond lithium production alone.
The company also points to a recovery in lithium prices from their June 2025 lows, stating that lithium carbonate prices had risen by approximately 83% from that level despite weakness over the preceding five months.
Nevertheless, the economic assumptions underpinning the original feasibility study are now more than six years old, making the planned update important to determining whether the project can be developed profitably.
ACE acknowledges that mineral resources do not necessarily demonstrate economic viability and that further technical work will be required before a production decision can be made.
