Namibia Critical Metals hires metallurgy VP for rare earths project

Namibia Critical Metals Inc. (TSXV: NMI) (OTCQB: NMREF) appointed Niels Verbaan as Vice President of Metallurgy to lead metallurgical development of the company's Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth Project in Namibia.

Verbaan brings over 25 years of experience in hydrometallurgical process development and has worked on rare earth element projects including Lofdal, Foxtrot, Strange Lake, and Mountain Pass. He most recently served as Senior Director of Technical Services at SGS Lakefield and will transition to Namibia Critical Metals on May 11.

In his new role, Verbaan will oversee metallurgical test work, flowsheet development, pilot programs, and process optimization for Lofdal, focusing on maximizing recovery of dysprosium and terbium.

Verbaan holds master's degrees in mining engineering from Delft University of Technology and hydrometallurgy from McGill University. He has authored over 50 technical papers and holds three patents related to rare earth element processing. He is a Professional Engineer in Ontario and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum.

The Lofdal Project operates under a 25-year Mining License and is part of a joint venture with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC). JOGMEC has completed Term 2 of the agreement and earned a 40% interest by reaching the C$10 million expenditure requirement.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation will join the project as part of JOGMEC's ownership interest. The joint venture agreement allows JOGMEC to earn up to 50% interest through staged expenditure commitments totaling C$23 million.

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