HALIFAX - Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ('Namibia Critical Metals or the 'Company' or 'NMI') (TSXV: NMI) is pleased to announce an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project ('Lofdal') in northwestern Namibia.
Highlights of the mineral resource update include: 1454% increase in total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource tonnage from 2.88 Mt at 0.32% TREO to 44.76 million tonnes at 0.17% TREO for combined Area 4 (including the first Measured Resource for Lofdal) and Area 2B based on the same cut-off of 0.1 % TREO as in the previous PEA filed on October 1, 2014; Term 1 objectives with JV partner JOGMEC of doubling the mineral resource far exceeded; 164% increase in total Inferred Mineral Resource tonnage to 8.67 million tonnes at a grade of 0.17% TREO for combined Area 4 and Area 2B based on 0.1 % TREO cut-off; 6 times increase in contained TREO in Measured & Indicated categories to 76,950 tonnes; Compared to previous mineral resource estimate, contained dysprosium oxide (4,060 tonnes) and terbium oxide (620 tonnes) in the Measured and Indicated categories increased 6.1 times and 6.7 times, respectively; Dysprosium oxide price in the 'moderate down case scenario' for 2021 at 420 USD per kilogram and terbium oxide price at 1,125 USD per kilogram (Adamas Intelligence, 2021)
Darrin Campbell, President of NMI stated 'We are extremely pleased to see this significant increase to the size and potential of our Lofdal Project. Our first year in partnership with JOGMEC has been a great success in advancing Lofdal forward to being one of the premier heavy rare earth projects in the world. It is a great pleasure to see that our geological team has cracked the code of the deposit to establish a first significant mineral resource outside Area 4 at Area 2B with several tens of kilometers of additional strike length of potentially mineralised structural zones to be drilled in Area 2 and Area 5 that could result in additional mineral resources. The main value drivers of the Lofdal deposit are dysprosium and terbium which are critical components to produce high-strength permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines. The permanent magnet sector is expected to be the fastest-growing end-use category of rare earths for the next decade.'
Background and summary
The Lofdal deposit is being developed by a joint venture of Namibia Critical Metals and the Japanese Oil, Gas and Metals Corporation (JOGMEC). The joint venture aimed at doubling the Mineral Resource of 2.88 Mt at a grade of 0.32% TREO in the Indicated category and 3.28 Mt at a grade of 0.27% TREO in the Inferred category (as reported in the PEA 2014[1]) with its 9 months drilling campaign in 2020.
As a result, drilling in 2020 increased the mineral resources of the project to 44.76 Mt at a grade of 0.17% TREO Measured and Indicated categories and 8.67 Mt at a grade of 0.17% TREO in Inferred category in combined Area 4 and Area 2B, applying the same cut-off of 0.1% total rare earth oxides (TREO) as in the previous PEA of 2014.
Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Lofdal Rare Earths Project Namibia dated October 1, 2014 authored by David S. Dodd, B. Sc (Hon) FSAIMM - The MDM Group, South Africa, Patrick J.F. Hannon, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. and William Douglas Roy, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. - MineTech International Limited, Canada, Peter Roy Siegfried, MAusIMM (CP Geology) and Michael R. Hall, B.Sc (Hons), MBA, MAusIMM, Pr.Sci.Nat, MGSSA - The MSA Group, South Africa. The PEA should not be considered to be a pre-feasibility or feasibility study, as the economics and technical viability of the Project has not been demonstrated at this time. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
On April 1, 2021 the Company announced that JOGMEC had officially elected to move to Term 2 of the JV Agreement and provide additional funding of $2,063,000 for further exploration and development programs at Lofdal through to July 31, 2021.
The terms of the JOGMEC JV Agreement contemplate that JOGMEC provides $3,000,000 in Term 1 and $7,000,000 in Term 2 to earn a 40% interest in the Lofdal project. Term 3 calls for a further $10,000,000 of expenditures to earn an additional 10% interest. The total approved expenditures to date for Terms 1 and 2 are $6,163,000. The JV Agreement is structured such that no NMI equity will be issued and it is totally non-dilutive to NMI shareholders.
Mineral Resource Estimates
The in-situ Mineral Resource estimate was independently prepared by The MSA Group of South Africa ('MSA') and was based on geochemical analyses and density measurements of core samples obtained by diamond drilling undertaken by Namibia Critical Metals from 2010 to 2012, 2015 and more recently in 2020.
A total of 172 drill holes have been drilled at Area 4, of which 13 were collared outside the defined Mineral Resource. In Area 2B, 46 drill holes were used to estimate the Mineral Resource. Extensive trenching and trench sampling were conducted in the earlier years of exploration, which was useful in defining the extents of the mineralisation but was excluded from the grade estimates due to potential biases from sampling in the near surface environment.
From the assumed parameters a 0.1% TREO cut-off grade was calculated, which together with the Whittle optimised pit shell demonstrates reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE) for the Mineral Resource.
Interpretation of the Mineral Resource estimates
The Mineral Resource at Area 4 was increased more than 7 fold using a cut-off of 0.1% TREO as in the maiden resource of 2012. In addition to Area 4, drilling in 2020 also demonstrated the potential of other mineralised structures to form part of the Lofdal deposit. Mineral resources at Area 2B amount to 2.2 Mt in the Indicated category and 2.58 Mt in the Inferred category at a cut-off of 0.1% TREO, or 1.24 Mt and 1.37 Mt, respectively, at a cut-off of 0.15% TREO. The exploration target for Area 2B was originally estimated at 1.5-2.5 Mt, and thus, was significantly exceeded.
The Mineral Resource estimates underline the potential of the Lofdal deposit to be developed in large-scale. Initial XRT and XRF sorting test work demonstrated an increase in the grade of the run of mine material by a factor of 1.5 to 3.0 (press release December 3rd, 2020) without any optimization. The Company plans substantial additional test work on sorting technologies to allow for a low cut-off grade in the range of 0.1% TREO.
About Namibia Critical Metals Inc.
Namibia Critical Metals Inc. holds a diversified portfolio of exploration and advanced stage projects in the country of Namibia focused on the development of sustainable and ethical sources of metals for the battery, electric vehicle and associated industries. The two advanced stage projects in the portfolio are Lofdal and Epembe. The Company also holds significant land positions in areas favourable for gold mineralization.
Heavy Rare Earths: The Lofdal Project is the Company's most advanced project having completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2014 and full Environmental Clearance for a first mining area in 2016. The Company has received Notice of Preparedness to Grant the Mining Licence for Lofdal from the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The Company has lodged its acceptance of the mining licence and awaits finalization of the process from the Ministry. The project is developed in joint venture with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ('JOGMEC') who are funding the current CD$10,000,000 drilling and metallurgical program with the objective of doubling the resource size and optimization of the process flow sheet.
Gold: The Company's Exclusive Prospecting Licenses ('EPLs') prospective for gold are located in the Central Namibian Gold Belt which hosts a number of significant orogenic gold deposits including the Navachab Gold Mine, the Otjikoto Gold Mine and more recently the discovery of the Twin Hills deposit. At the Erongo Gold Project, stratigraphic equivalents to the meta-sediments hosting the Osino's gold discovery at Twin Hills have been identified and soil surveys are progressing over this highly prospective area.
The Grootfontein Base Metal and Gold Project has potential for magmatic copper-nickel mineralization, Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead-vanadium mineralization and orogenic gold mineralization. Detailed interpretation of geophysical data and regional geochemical soil sampling have identified first gold targets. A regional helicopter-borne SkyTEM EM and magnetic survey is planned for May 2021.
Tantalum-Niobium: The Epembe Tantalum-Niobium-Uranium Project is at an advanced stage with a well-defined, 10 km long carbonatite dyke that has been delineated by detailed mapping and radiometric surveys with over 11,000 meters of drilling. Preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical studies including sorting tests (XRT), indicate the potential for significant physical upgrading. Further work will be undertaken to advance the project to a preliminary economic assessment stage.
Copper-Cobalt: The Kunene Copper-Cobalt Project comprises a very large area of favorable stratigraphy along strike of the Opuwo cobalt-copper-zinc deposit. Secondary copper mineralization over a wide area points to preliminary evidence of a regional-scale hydrothermal system. Exploration targets on EPLs held in the Kunene project comprise direct extensions of the cobalt-copper mineralization to the west, sediment-hosted copper, orogenic copper, and stratabound manganese and zinc-lead mineralization.
The common shares of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol 'NMI'.
Contact:
Darrin Campbell
Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760
Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761
Email: Info@NamibiaCMI.com
Web: www.NamibiaCriticalMetals.com
The foregoing information may contain forward-looking information relating to the future performance of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. forward-looking information, specifically, that concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions.
NAMIBIA CRITICAL METALS INC. 
