Mining in Namibia

Mining is the biggest contributor to Namibia's economy in terms of revenue. It accounts for 25% of the country's income. Its contribution to the gross domestic product (10.4% in 2009, 8.5% in 2010, 9.5% in 2011, 12.3% in 2012, 13.2% in 2013, 11.6% in 2014) is also very important and makes it one of the largest economic sectors of the country. Namibia produces diamonds, uranium, copper, magnesium, zinc, silver, gold, lead, semi-precious stones and industrial minerals.KPMG (2014).
Namibia. Country Mining Guide
'. KPMG INTERNATIONAL. p.3 The majority of revenue (7.2% of GDP in 2011) comes from diamond mining. In 2014, Namibia was the fourth-largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa.

Overview

Namibia has a long tradition of mining. In 2018, mining contributed 14% of GDP and expanded 28%. Extensive exploration in Namibia for base metals, diamonds, gold, natural gas, and uranium has been attributed, in part, to the rise in world commodity prices. Under the Mining Act, the natural resources of Namibia belong to the State. However, the state in Namibia is limited to the role of a grantor-regulator than an owner-operator. One of the main challenges of the mining industry is the lack of water resources, as the availability of fuel and electric power.

A mining policy in Namibia was developed in 2003 through research with the information made available by key stakeholders.

Production

World Bank pointed out that mining in Namibia grew an average of 4.6% over the 2000–2012 period. The growth of the mining sector is influenced by the global economy and demand, in contrast to the agricultural industry in Namibia, which is influenced by environmental conditions.

In 2019, the mining industry contributed over 300 million dollars to government revenue. The whole industry contributed around 2.2 billion dollars to the national economy in the same period. However, a drop in diamond and uranium production caused a contraction of 11,1%. Lower mineral commodity prices led to the declining expenditure on exploration.

In 2006, manganese, diamond, and fluorspar output increased by 158%, 24%, and 15%, respectively, compared with that of 2005, and copper, lead, wollastonite, and zinc posted significant production declines.

The increase in manganese was attributable to the expansion of production at the reopened Purity Mine (formerly the Otjisondu Mine). The decline in copper output could be attributed in part to instability during the transition of ownership of Ongopolo Mining and Processing Ltd. Lead and zinc output declined in part because of a short strike by workers at the Rosh Pinah mine.

Employment

In 2019, the mining industry paid over 300 million dollars in wages and salaries and provided 16,324 direct jobs with 9,027 permanent employees. Temporary jobs figured out 800, while 6,515 were contractor jobs.

In February 2020, mining operations were suspended at Tschudi because the oxide ore body was depleted, provocating the loss of 66 direct contractor jobs. For the same cause, mining operations ceased at Skorpion Zinc, and the mine closed due to safety concerns. Around 1,500 jobs were lost.

Depending on economic up and downswings, mining provided for around 6,000 to 8,000 direct jobs between 2007 and 2014. The artisans for the industry are educated in the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) in Arandis, Keetmanshoop, and Tsumeb, as well as at University of Namibia (UNAM)'s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology in Ongwediva. Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)'s Faculty of Engineering in Windhoek also provides mining education.

Structure of the mineral industry

The Government encourages private sector exploration and development according to guidelines set out in its 2003 paper entitled "The Mineral Policy of Namibia". The Ministry of Mines and Energy and its Diamond Affairs, Energy, and Mining Directorates regulate Namibia’s mining and petroleum industries, and the Ministry concerns itself with the provision of national exploration and mining databases and competitive exploration and mining policy and regulations. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for regulating manufacturing activity, which includes mineral beneficiation, the production of cement, and the processing of semiprecious stones; the Ministry also promotes resource-based development.

Epangelo Mining is a mining company owned by the government. It was founded in 2009 with the aim to govern the rights on six mineral resources that are deemed strategic for Namibia, and for which new exploration rights must be held by government. The six resources are: diamonds, gold, coal, uranium, copper, and rare earth minerals.

The larger mining operations in Namibia tended to be funded and operated by domestic and international investors. Numerous local operations were involved in smaller-scale industrial mineral production, especially the semiprecious gemstone sector.

Commodities

Cement

Cement had been imported since the closure of the Otjiwarongo factory of African Portland Cement several years ago. Holcim (Namibia) (Pty.) Ltd., which was owned by Holcim S.A. of Switzerland, 54%, and the Aveng Group of South Africa, 46% (and known as Alpha Cement prior to 2004), imported about 25,000 metric tons per month of cement to meet local demand. In 2005, Cheetah Cement Factory, which was a joint venture of Whale Rock Cement of Namibia and CP Cimento e Participacoes S.A. of Brazil, proposed to import cement from Brazil until a 500,000-t/yr-capacity cement plant near Otjiwarongo was built. In late 2005, Cheetah Cement imported 36,000 metric tons of cement from Brazil.

Ohorongo Cement near Otavi started production in 2010. Cheetah Cement also got a factory in 2018, so that there is now an oversupply of cement to the Namibian market.

Copper

In 2006, Weatherly International plc of the United Kingdom agreed to acquire 56% interest in financially distressed Ongopolo; Weatherly subsequently increased its equity interest in the company to 100%. Ongopolo operated the Kombat, the Matchless, and the Otjihase Mines. Ongopolo suspended operations at the Tsumeb copper smelter in mid-2006, relined the 30,000-metric-ton-per-year (t/yr)-capacity reverberatory furnace, and reopened the smelter in August. A second reverberatory furnace at Tsumeb remained inactive, pending renovation.

Ongopolo evaluated the development of an underground mine at the Tschudi copper-silver prospect. Other copper exploration activity in Namibia included that of Copper Resources Corp. of South Africa on the Haib project, Helio Resource Corp. of Canada on the Honib prospect, Teck Cominco Ltd. of Canada on the Kaoko project, and Yale Resources Ltd. of Canada on the Leicester prospect.

Companies that explored for gold in 2006 included Forsys Metals Corp. of Canada on the Ondundu prospect, Teal Exploration & Mining Inc. of Canada on the Otjikoto prospect, and Teck Cominco on the Vredelus prospect. Yale Resources worked on the Makuru (also known as the Otjimakuru) project. , the only operational gold mine in Namibia is the Navachab Gold Mine.Country report: Namibia
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 8 August 2010
Now new company called Auryx Gold Namibia was formed and exploring the Otjikoto Gold deposit

Diamond

Diamond remained the most economically significant mineral commodity produced by the mining industry of Namibia. The country produced about 2% of the world’s gem-quality diamonds, which placed it as the eighth-ranked producer of gem diamond in terms of value. Diamonds contributed N$2,5 billion (US$235 million) in revenue to the government in 2013.

In 2020, the Bank of Namibia forecasted a record decline of 24.6% in real terms due to a lower demand caused by COVID-19 outbreak. The president of the Chamber of Mines of Namibia Zebra Kasete said the decline in demand dampened the flow in the diamond pipeline.

Namdeb Diamond Corp. (Pty.) Ltd., which was a joint venture between De Beers Centenary AG and the Namibian Government, with each having 50%, was the country’s leading diamond producer. During 2006, Namdeb, its contractors, and its subsidiaries produced more than . The partners also negotiated the Namdeb Sales Agreement in 2006, which created the Namibia Diamond Trading Co., to sort and value the volume of Namdeb’s production that would be marketed to the domestic diamond-cutting industry.

Granite

Granite is mined in Walvis Bay.

Iron

Lodestone’s Dordabis iron ore mine is a small mine that produced 4,000 tons of low-grade iron ore when it started in 2015. It is Namibia’s only iron mine and also produces magnetite and hematite products. Ohorongo uses the magnetite of this mine for cement manufacturing. Lodestone mine yielded 91,000 tons of iron ore between 2015 and 2022.

Lead and zinc

Contributing to the decline in Namibian zinc output in 2006 was the nearly 3-week fire-related suspension of zinc metal production operations at the Skorpion zinc facility and a strike at the Rosh Pinah Mine for higher wages, which lasted for about 2 weeks and adversely affected lead and zinc concentrate production. Kumba Resources Ltd. of South Africa proposed to reduce its 89.5% equity interest in Rosh Pinah to about 50%. A local investor group, which included PE Minerals (Namibia) (Pty.) Ltd., was expected to acquire Kumba’s divested interest.

Marble

Marble is mined near Karibib.

Petroleum

Offshore petroleum activity included exploration on Block 1711 by the joint venture of Z.A.O. Sintezneftegas of Russia (70%), Petroleum, Oil & Gas Corp. of South Africa (PetroSA) (10%), EnerGulf Resources Inc. of the United States (10%), and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) (7%). Onshore exploration included that of the joint venture of Circle Oil Namibia Ltd. (90%) and NAMCOR (10%). In 2006, Mitusi Atlantic Energy BV (15%) joined the joint venture of BHP of Australia (75%) and PetroSA (10%), which held Blocks 2813A, 2814B, and 2914.

Phosphate

The Sandpiper phosphate mine is a planned activity on the seabed of the Atlantic off the shore of Walvis Bay. An exploration license has been granted in 2011 but an environmental clearance certificate for Sandpiper was revoked in 2017.

Salt

Salt is produced at the Atlantic coast of Namibia through solar evaporation of sea water. There are two major producers. Walvis Bay Salt produces around 1 million tons per annum, both for the chemical industry and, under the "Cerebos" brand, for domestic use. Salt Company Swakopmund produces only table salt. The annual production is approximately 120,000 tons, the salt is marketed as "Light Flow".

Uranium

Namibia was the sixth ranked producer of uranium, producing about 8% of the world’s uranium in 2006. Due to the opening of the Langer Heinrich Uranium (LHU) mine in 2007, the country in 2009 had raised its share to nearly 10%, but when Uranium prices fell after the Fukushima incident production was reduced. In 2012, Namibia produced 7.1% of Uranium oxide, behind Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, and Niger

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