Aldoro Resources, an Australian-listed explorer, has announced that Namibia is home to the world’s largest reported strontium resource following the definition of 802.1 million tonnes grading 2.11% strontium at its Kameelburg critical minerals project.
The company highlights Kameelburg as a major development project, positioning strontium alongside rare earths and niobium, with the potential to supply a significant portion of the global strontium carbonate market, a key material used in permanent magnets and various industrial applications.
World-leading strontium and rare earths resource
Aldoro’s August 2026 corporate presentation brands Kameelburg as the “World’s No.1 Strontium Resource,” complemented by what it describes as the world’s second-largest rare-earth resource. The total mineral resource at Kameelburg stands at 804.5 million tonnes, with 802.1 million tonnes attributed to strontium.
This discovery could elevate Namibia’s role in the critical minerals supply chain, an area that has traditionally focused more on uranium, lithium, rare earths, and copper. Kameelburg is also unique among listed rare-earth peers for having a reported strontium resource, setting it apart from companies like Lindian Resources, Iluka Resources, Lynas Rare Earths, and US producer MP Materials.
Access to two major permanent magnet markets
Aldoro emphasizes the importance of strontium in ferrite permanent magnets, which constitute over 70% of global permanent magnet usage by volume. Strontium carbonate, essential for making strontium ferrite magnets, is widely used in automotive and industrial motors, electronics, loudspeakers, and sensors, with demand surpassing 1.1 million tonnes annually.
Kameelburg also contains about 1.37 million tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium oxide (NdPr), used in high-performance NdFeB permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines. Thus, the project uniquely offers raw materials for both the large-volume ferrite magnet market and the high-performance rare-earth magnet market from the same mineral system.
Ambitious production targets and efficient processing
Aldoro projects that Kameelburg’s processing operation could eventually handle 10 million tonnes of ore annually, producing approximately 400,000 tonnes of strontium carbonate per year, about 50% of global demand.
While the project remains under study, initial metallurgical tests show promising recovery rates of 99% for strontium, compared to 72% for total rare-earth oxides and 62.4% for niobium pentoxide. The mineralogy suggests the potential for direct leaching of run-of-mine material, which may allow multiple minerals to be recovered efficiently from the same ore.
Strategic alternative supply outside concentrated markets
Aldoro positions Kameelburg as a potential alternative supply source amid global supply-chain concerns. Disruptions such as the April 2025 closure of Iran’s Bandar Abbas export port and rising strontium carbonate prices, from around US$1,000 to approximately US$2,500 per tonne, have underlined vulnerabilities in the market dominated by China and Iran.
Developing Kameelburg could provide a stable, economically viable strontium supply outside these concentrated regions.
The company plans to advance a scoping study in the second half of 2026, alongside ongoing metallurgical optimization. This will be followed by a pre-feasibility study, with feasibility work, permitting, and financing still required before a final decision on mine development.
Aldoro targets first-phase production by the end of 2028, though it notes the timeline remains indicative as studies progress.
