Australian-listed Kazera Global has reached a N$173-million settlement agreement with Chinese firm Hebei Xinjian Construction over the sale of Tantalite Valley Mine.

The mine in the ||Kharas East constituency is located 30km south of Warmbad.

Hebei Xinjian Construction agreed to buy the mine from Kazera Global in 2022, but has defaulted on its payments.

Following arbitration proceedings, Australian-listed Kazera on Monday announced it had reached an agreement with Hebei.

“This is a significant and highly positive milestone for Kazera and its shareholders. We have executed a definitive settlement agreement in respect of the Aftan arbitration, which provides a clear pathway to significant further value recovery,” Kazera interim chief executive Richard Jennings said.

Kazera first entered the Namibian tantalite valley in 2014 by investing in African Tantalum (Aftan).

In July and December 2022, it signed two agreements that would divest first half, then all of its interest in the mine.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Hebei will pay N$173 million over the next three years. The agreement will be effective once Hebei pays an initial amount of N$8.2 million.

“We believe this agreement provides enhanced certainty, meaningful downside protection and an attractive commercial outcome when balanced against the uncertainty, timing and cost associated with alternative recovery routes,” Jennings said.

“If completed in full, it will also result in aggregate cash receipts of approximately US$14.6 million, which compares favourably with original cash consideration of US$13 million under the original 2022 sale agreement for Aftan.”

In May 2025, Kazera announced it had been successful in arbitration proceedings and would be awarded N$196 million.

However, the difficulty in recovering this amount led the company to pursue a settlement agreement with Hebei instead, Jennings said.

The mining licence is active, but there have been no active operations during the sale and arbitration processes.

The ownership of the mine will only be fully transferred to Hebei once the whole payment has been received.

The Tantalite valley area is also home to Arcadia Mineral’s Swanson project.

Arcadia and Hebei had signed a deal to allow Hebei to build a plant at Swanson. The deal was cancelled in 2025, as Hebei failed to deliver equipment for the plant.

Tantalite is a dark-coloured mineral composed primarily of iron, manganese and tantalum oxide. It is the primary ore used to extract tantalum, a metal vital for manufacturing smartphones, laptops, and aerospace components.

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