Lessons from the past
Trekkopje’s
unexpected legacy
The desalination plant provides water to most of the mining operations in the
Erongo region and to towns in the area, like Swakopmund and Henties Bay.
A desalination plant that was constructed by a uranium mine to provide the
operation with water in 2010, today provides most of the mines and people in
the Erongo region of Namibia with water, writes Leon Louw.
www.miningmirror.co.za
T
he Erongo Desalination Plant
(EDP) can produce about 20
million cubic metres of potable
water each year (currently it is producing
12 million cubic metres of water). It is
the first and remains one of the very
few desalination facilities to be built in
southern Africa and is located in the
village of Wlotzkasbaken, about 30km
north of Swakopmund. State entity
NamWater taps into the treatment
facility’s water production and distributes
it to Swakopmund and surrounds.
Ironically, the desalination plant was
constructed by a mining company; it was
never intended to provide the Erongo
region with drinking water.
French company Orano Mining
Namibia, previously Areva Resources
Namibia (the company changed its name
in January 2018), acquired a mining license
to develop the Trekkopje uranium mine in
The water pipes connecting NamWater and the Erongo Desalination Plant.
JANUARY 2019 MINING MIRROR
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