Namibia has effectively lost out on billions of dollars in potential revenue from cobalt, a key battery metal, following the collapse of two once-promising projects—Celsius Resources’ Opuwo Cobalt Project and Cazaly Resources’ Kaoko Copper-Cobalt Project.
Based on current market prices of around US$31,000 per tonne, the 260,000 tonnes of contained cobalt at Opuwo alone would have been worth over US$8 billion (approximately N$150 billion), yet the project is no longer being developed.
By contrast, the DRC remains dominant with reserves of 3.5 million tonnes and total resources exceeding 6 million tonnes.
At today’s cobalt prices, the DRC’s reserves alone are worth more than US$108 billion (roughly N$2.025 trillion).
Morocco holds about 18,000 tonnes (US$558 million or N$10.46 billion), and Madagascar has 120,000 tonnes (US$3.7 billion or N$69.38 billion).
Cobalt is primarily used in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones, and laptops—accounting for over half of global demand.
It also plays a key role in aerospace superalloys, cutting tools, catalysts for oil refining, permanent magnets, and medical isotopes, such as cobalt-60, used in cancer treatment. Its high thermal and corrosion resistance make it essential in advanced industrial applications, and its role in energy storage positions it as a strategic mineral in the global energy transition.
Celsius writes down one of the world’s largest cobalt deposits
Celsius Resources has withdrawn entirely from the Opuwo Cobalt Project—once described as one of the largest undeveloped cobalt deposits outside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The company wrote down the asset in early 2025, citing weak market conditions and a change in corporate strategy.
Celsius became involved in Opuwo in June 2017 through a binding heads of agreement to acquire 100% of Opuwo Cobalt Pty Ltd (formerly Gecko Cobalt Holdings) from Gecko Namibia.
Gecko, a Namibian-based mining and exploration company, had earlier conducted geophysical and geochemical surveys confirming sediment-hosted cobalt and copper mineralisation over a 15-km strike.
Celsius completed the acquisition in August 2017 by issuing 85 million shares, valuing the deal at approximately A$7.65 million (roughly N$95.6 million). Gecko retained a 5% free-carry interest through to the completion of a bankable feasibility study.
The project, located in northwestern Namibia, near the town of Opuwo in the Kunene Region, featured a sediment-hosted deposit style comparable to deposits found in the Central African Copperbelt.
The JORC-compliant resource stood at 225.5 million tonnes grading 0.12% cobalt, 0.43% copper, and 0.54% zinc—representing over 260,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.
After advancing scoping and metallurgical studies, Celsius completed a pre-feasibility study and drilled more than 100 diamond and RC holes.
Over the life of the project, Celsius spent more than A$12 million (approximately N$150 million) on exploration and technical work. However, delays in global battery demand growth and persistently weak cobalt prices stalled progress.
Despite the project’s scale, Celsius is now pursuing an asset sale and has no other active projects in Namibia. If it fully exits, it will mark the end of its engagement in the country’s resource sector.
Kaoko’s licence lapses
Cazaly Resources’ Kaoko Copper-Cobalt Project has quietly exited the stage.
In its June 2025 quarterly report, the company confirmed that Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) 6667—covering 1,410 km² in Namibia’s Kunene Region—expired on 8 June 2025.
The project has since been dropped from Cazaly’s planning, effectively ending its Namibian cobalt exploration effort.
The Kaoko project had a layered history of ownership and exploration.
It was initially explored between 2012 and 2015 by Celsius Resources and its then-partner Kunene Resources, a private Australian company.
Their work culminated in Namibia’s first confirmed copper-cobalt discovery in July 2015, including the identification of the Kamwe anomaly—a 20 km by 5 km soil geochemical anomaly interpreted as an analogue of a Dolomite Ore Formation.
Cazaly entered the picture in February 2018, acquiring up to 95% of the project through an option agreement with Kunene Resources.
Following the acquisition, Cazaly carried out extensive regional and infill soil sampling, mapping, and field reconnaissance.
The company confirmed several base metal anomalies and refined its understanding of the Kamwe target.
Although Cazaly confirmed multiple geochemical anomalies, it never drilled the copper-cobalt targets.
In 2024, it pivoted to test for lithium mineralisation at the Ohevanga prospect within the same licence area, drilling 28 reverse circulation holes for a total of 1,324 metres. The results were uneconomic.
Throughout its involvement, Cazaly is estimated to have spent over A$1.2 million (about N$15 million) on exploration and fieldwork at Kaoko.
While a return to copper-cobalt exploration was briefly considered, the company allowed the licence to lapse without renewal. Cazaly has since redirected its Namibian efforts to the Abenab North Rare Earth Project in the Otavi Mountainland.
Investor sentiment cools on Namibia’s cobalt sector
The twin exits from Kaoko and Opuwo underscore a broader pullback in cobalt exploration in Namibia, despite its geological promise.
The country’s sediment-hosted copper belts and Damara Belt zones remain prospective, but without infrastructure or downstream processing, investors are looking elsewhere.
There are no other known cobalt exploration or development projects in Namibia, apart from those in Opuwo and Kaoko.
