Comment
Revisiting
Namibia’s
riches
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@LeonLouw3
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M
ining is fascinating. As the world
progresses, there is increased
demand for commodities needed for
new technologies. Many of these commodities
were not even known five years ago. In the past,
several deposits were mined for completely
different minerals to what they are being
developed for today. In some cases, valuable
minerals were discarded on waste dumps, as
there was no need for them a century ago.
In other instances, the price of a commodity
that might have been high in demand 50
years ago, dropped to such lows that it became
totally unprofitable to mine 20 years later. In
an endless cycle, that same mineral becomes
fashionable again later, and historical mine
workings are exploited, mapped, relooked,
redesigned, and eventually remined. When
driving through the remoteness of Namibia,
like I did recently, trying to understand the
geology and the country’s mining industry,
it is probably best to search for the historical
mine workings on a map first and then find a
well-versed geologist to drive with you.
Traversing the moon landscape of Namibia
is not only breathtaking, but a lesson in
geology from day one. Its open spaces,
inselbergs, sedimentary deposits, sandy plains,
and windy valleys tell a story of rumblings,
volcanic outbursts, and endless erosion. I had
the opportunity to drive with Tim Marais,
geologist at AfriTin, to the company’s new
project close to Uis, about two hours north-east
of Swakopmund. Iscor mined the Uis tin
deposit from the 1950s, but when the price
dropped in the late 1990s, it suddenly left with
ore literally still stuck in the crusher.
Walking through the numerous pits (and
there are many) left by Iscor is a mindboggling
excursion. The black tin spots are scattered all
over the host rock, and although low grade,
the deposit is bigger than what I expected.
Moreover, a lot of exploration still needs to be
done. It is well known that the pegmatites and
tin are found in a massive belt that stretches all
the way from Uis to Henties Bay on the coast.
The improved tin price has made it possible
for AfriTin to relook the mine and they have
enough exploration data to prove a viable
project. Their processing plant is almost up and
running (see the photos in “Lessons from the
Past” on page 30).
But these pegmatites might also host the
sought-after new mineral on everybody’s lips:
lithium. Just about 50km north (as the crow
flies), Tony Harwood’s Montero Mining might
have stumbled on an interesting deposit at
Soris, where he has done some initial drilling.
Harwood says he will start operating next year
and although a lot still needs to be done before
then, it is something to keep an eye on.
Though, one of the most exciting projects in
Namibia (the other being B2Gold’s Otjikoto
Mine), is probably Canadian company Desert
Lion Energy’s lithium project close to Karabib,
about 170km north-west of Windhoek. Chief
operating officer Johan Coetzee is a legend in
the Namibian mining industry and is running
a tight ship in processing the waste dumps left
by a number of companies that operated in
the area before. There are many (and I mean
many) small pits and waste dumps containing
lepidolites (from which lithium is extracted).
Anglo American had mined these pegmatites
in the 1960s, but then it was used for glass
and ceramics, so they dumped the lithium.
But the big deposits of lithium are still in the
ground, ready to be mined within the next two
years. In the meantime, Coetzee has enough
waste material to put through his mobile
plants to keep him busy until then. So, in the
never-ending cycle, new opportunities arise
where one least expects it — fascinating indeed.
Leon
Editor
OCTOBER 2018 MINING MIRROR
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