The Chamber of Mines of Namibia has said that it wholeheartedly supports local value addition to all minerals produced in Namibia to grow the economy and create jobs.
In a statement, the Chamber welcomed the Cabinet decision on the understanding that Cabinet is referring to the ban on the export of mineral ores, meaning ores of all the minerals mentioned in the Cabinet decision.
According to the Chamber of Mines CEO, Veston Malango, “It is necessary for Government to control and regulate the export of unprocessed critical minerals to support job creation and grow the economy in line with the African Mining Vision.”
The processing and value addition to all minerals, inclusive of critical minerals, is indeed a widely-held narrative in Namibia.
”The Chamber of Mines thus recognises that the intention of this directive is to ensure that Namibia does not lose out on any potential local value addition. The measures taken by Government do not inhibit the valuable work being done by companies in Namibia, that intend to establish mining operations and processing facilities.
“However, the Chamber is concerned that the requirement for an endorsement by Cabinet on exports of ore in small quantities may unintentionally delay genuine test work being carried out by Chamber members for purposes of critical metallurgical test work required in the design of the much-needed processing plants in Namibia.”
In this regard, the Chamber CEO explains that the Chamber intends to proactively engage the Minister of Mines and Energy so that exports of minerals for such purposes should not be unreasonably delayed.
The Chamber of Mines President, Zebra Kasete expressed that the cabinet directive will not have any immediate repercussions on the future plans of Chamber members, as they all have plans to add value locally to the critical minerals at least to the concentrate level and retain jobs in Namibia.
“The Chamber will proactively engage Government to collectively identify processing and value addition opportunities for Namibia’s critical minerals, and what enablers are necessary to make Namibia an attractive destination for investment into value addition opportunities,” he stated.