African Mining July - August 2019 | Page 49

Namibian mining on the up By Roelof Van Tonder Africa House recently led a business delegation to Namibia to look at business opportunities in that country with a focus on recent developments in the Port of Walvis Bay. What we found was that the current and future improvements in the port infrastructure and the related positive outlook for the mining sector will likely generate steady growth in business opportunities for a broad range of companies. The following are some of the important developments in and around Walvis Bay that support this view: • • • • On 1 August 2019 a New Container Terminal (NCT) at the Walvis Bay Harbour will be inaugurated. The R6-billion project financed by the African Development Bank will improve the TEU capacity of that harbour from about 350 000 TEU’s to 750 000. Completion of the first phase of the Liquid Bulk Terminal in the North Port Development at a new site north of the current port will enable the pursuit of several large projects that can or will achieve the objective of making Walvis Bay a regional logistics hub. These envisaged projects include a mega logistics parks, a local crude oil industry; large scale exports of Namibian mining product; Namibian iron ore exports; the Trans Kalahari Railway Line; coal exports from Botswana and many more. Efforts to start servicing and trading with the two copper belts in Zambia and the DRC has been successful. The mining industry outlook is improving after a long period of subdued activity: The following four positive developments are worthy of mention: - Aim-listed AfriTin Mining recently confirmed the commissioning of a tin processing plant at the Uis tin mine. - The Namib Lead and Zinc Mine, situated some 30km to the east of Swakopmund, is gearing up to re-start production in 2019. - Desert Lion Energy is planning on building Namibia’s first large-scale lithium mine. www.africanmining.co.za - Rio Tinto is selling its stake in Rössing Uranium mine to the China National Uranium Corporation (CNBC). According to the World Nuclear Association global demand for uranium is expected to rise 44% by 2035 and with some estimates indicating that Namibia is set to become the third largest uranium producer in the world, which bodes well for the industry. Market conditions have changed in a positive way for the global nuclear industry after seven years of disruption and oversupply following the Fukushima incident in Japan. Production cuts and improved demand from the nuclear sector are pushing prices higher and supporting a slow but certain recovery in the Namibian mining industry. The improved outlook for the uranium mining industry in Namibia is supported by China and India’s nuclear build programme. China is widely believed to have 19 nuclear reactors under construction and 41 planned. In a bid to support investment in the mining industry the Namibian Government has scrapped local ownership requirements in the mining industry. In a separate, but related announcement the Ministry of Finance has issued new local content procurement requirements for mines and other industries. Effectively they have made it easier for investment to take place while at the same time supporting local industry with modest local content requirements. In the shorter term, the completion of the New Container Terminal will be making more than 30 hectares of prime port property available for all industries with close involvement in the logistics and mining sectors of Namibia and in countries such as Zambia and the DRC. In the longer term this new terminal will be a catalyst in supporting the North Port Development and improving the competitiveness of the Namibian and broader regional mining industry. b JULY - AUGUST 2019 AFRICAN MINING 47