Chinalco acquires Namibia's Opuwo cobalt deposit from Celsius Resources; shares surge 78%

Summary

China's state aluminium giant Chinalco agreed on June 29 to acquire the Opuwo Cobalt Project in Namibia's remote Kunene Region from ASX-listed Celsius Resources, whose shares rose 78% on the announcement. The deposit holds an inferred resource of roughly 90,000 tonnes of cobalt equivalent, one of the largest development-ready primary cobalt assets outside the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chinalco already controls cobalt-linked assets in the DRC and Zambia; the Namibia deal extends that footprint into a country that Western-backed supply-chain diversification initiatives had specifically targeted. The acquisition was not flagged to US or EU partners in advance and was structured through a Chinalco affiliate registered in Singapore, a routing that complicates the application of Western minerals-screening rules.

The split

Chinese state media frames the acquisition as commercial development of an undercapitalised African asset, noting that Celsius lacked the balance sheet to bring Opuwo to production and that Chinalco will accelerate the timeline. Western commentary focuses on the strategic closure: Namibia was listed under the US-EU Cobalt Supply Chain Minerals Security Partnership as a priority country for alternative sourcing, and the deal removes the only non-Chinese-controlled development-stage project there. Namibia's government has not publicly commented, though the country's mining investment law requires ministerial sign-off, which suggests the deal was pre-cleared.

By the numbers

• 78%, rise in Celsius Resources shares on ASX on announcement day
• ~90,000 tonnes, inferred cobalt equivalent resource at Opuwo
• 3rd, Chinalco's African cobalt acquisition in 2026 (DRC and Zambia precede Namibia)
• 4, years Celsius had been developing Opuwo without reaching construction decision

Why it matters

Cobalt from the DRC and Zambia already flows through Chinese-controlled supply chains to EV battery makers globally. Adding Namibia forecloses the one southern African cobalt development option that Western automakers and battery producers had identified as a hedge against DRC concentration risk. The deal tightens China's grip on battery-grade cobalt at exactly the moment US and European EV mandates are increasing demand, and it signals that the Minerals Security Partnership has not yet translated into acquisition pace to match China's.

What to watch

• Whether the US or EU attempt to block or review the transaction under minerals-security frameworks
• Namibia's ministerial approval process and any conditions attached
• Celsius's use of proceeds: the company had flagged lithium projects in Mozambique as next priority
• Whether the Opuwo timeline accelerates: Chinalco has committed capital; first ore may reach processors within 4-5 years