2024 Mining Expo and Conference: Welcome remarks by Zebra Kasete, the president of the Chamber of Mines of Namibia

7 August 2024

A very warm good morning to all and welcome to the 11th Mining Expo and Conference. Today we are privileged and honoured to have Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the vice president of Namibia, to grace this occasion as chief guest of honour. Madam vice president, I welcome you wholeheartedly to the 2024 Mining Expo and Conference.

The Chamber of Mines has been an advocacy body of the mining industry since its inception in 1969. The chamber is 55 years old, but we embarked on hosting this annual event in 2010, starting at the Safari Hotel, and later moving on to this venue.

I am pleased to note that this years’ expo has received overwhelming support from exhibitors, surpassing all previous records. We have 199 exhibitors occupying 317 booths this year, as compared to 162 exhibitors with 268 booths during the previous event in 2023. This represents an increase of 22,8% in exhibitors, and 18,3% in booth uptake.

This event has attracted a large entourage of companies from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, 22 in total, and three international companies. The rest are companies operating in Namibia.

Since its inception, the main objective of the Mining Expo and Conference has remained the same, namely to  showcase   the   Namibian   mining   industry   to stakeholders and the citizens as the owners of the resource and provide information on what the industry really is, to provide a platform for Namibians and business entities to identify business opportunities in the upstream linkages – as local suppliers of mining inputs and services to the mining industry, and lastly but not the least, to promote careers in mining-related fields.

For these noble reasons outlined above, we have continued to make participation by individuals free of charge.

The costs of hosting this event are covered by the support of exhibitors and generous sponsorships. As a result, we have been able to engage all stakeholders, including the ordinary person on the street. This has made this annual event truly Namibian, for Namibians!

Invitations to this event were extended to all stakeholders including the general public, through extensive media coverage that included print and electronic media, radio, social media platforms, and through our expo-dedicated chamber website.

Reflecting on the remarkable achievements and trends in the mining sector, this year’s Mining Expo & Conference will highlight the potential within Namibia’s mining sector under the theme ‘Green Shoots for Namibia’s Mining Industry: a Season of Opportunity and Growth to Drive Economic Expansion’.

This theme underscores the new growth and opportunities emerging in the industry, driven by a resurging uranium sub-sector, a new gold mine, growing potential in the oil and gas sector, and strategic investments to increase the life of mines of existing operations. As the mining industry plays a pivotal role in Namibia’s economy, this event aims to spotlight these advancements and their potential to stimulate substantial economic expansion.

The green shoots for Namibia’s mining sector are mostly hinged on a resurging uranium market, as nuclear energy is emerging as a prominent and sustainable source of baseload power worldwide. Over the past two years, the uranium market has seen significant growth, with prices surpassing the US$100/lb mark in January due to the gradual depletion of utility stockpiles and stagnant supply levels. 

This positive trend is expected to drive increased production at Namibia’s key uranium mines, such as Rössing and Husab, as well as at Langer Heinrich Mine, which has restarted operations early this year. 

This is in addition to the development of new uranium mines, namely Bannerman’s Etango-8 project and Deep Yellow’s Tumas project. These developments position Namibia as a critical player in the global nuclear energy market, contributing to sustainable energy solutions and economic growth.

Other avenues of growth are also being created by up-coming projects in critical minerals and precious metals. Notably, Namibia will soon see the development of its third gold mine, the Twin Hills project currently owned by Osino Resources. Osino Resources has accepted an offer by Shinjan International Gold Co Ltd (formerly Yinati Gold) to acquire and develop this project, which is pending the required approvals from the various regulatory authorities, particularly the Namibian Competition Commission. 

Once the transaction is finalised, the new owners will commence with the development of the mine.

Namibia’s mining industry continues to be a cornerstone of the national economy, contributing significantly to gross domestic product and employment, as mentioned above. In recent years, the industry has seen robust growth, driven by increased production and new investments. 

While the mining sector is posting a sterling performance as alluded to above, the question still remains as to how mineral resources can continue to benefit citizens beyond taxes and royalties in a sustainable manner. The answer lies in exploration to discover additional orebodies which may eventually become mines, and also for extension of life of mines (LoM) for existing mines. Investments in exploration is what creates a pipeline of future mines, exploration is fundamental to the sustainability of mining.

I am of the firm opinion that the government can assist Namibians to actively participate in the high-risk business of exploration by empowering them with skills to raise capital, just like any other exploration company from abroad. 

The government should not entertain the idea of establishing an exploration fund from taxpayers’ money, but rather equip Namibians with skills to raise high-risk capital from financial capital markets in the world. 

The same should apply to the state-owned Epangelo Mining company. This could unlock tremendous additional value and benefits to the citizens and the national economy at large. Epangelo should emulate the success story of a government company such as Vale of Brazil to broaden the benefits from mining. 

I submit that this approach is a low-hanging fruit compared to calls for government free carry in mines, a policy proposal that is under discussion.

The chamber has maintained the tradition of allocating complementary booths/stands for the 11th time now.

I am pleased to inform you that once again we have allocated complementary booths to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (two booths), the University of Namibia, the Mining and Process Engineering Department of the University of Science and Technology, the Namibian Uranium Association, the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology, the Southern Africa Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Namibia Branch, and the Emerging Miners Association of Namibia.

Let me take this opportunity to once again thank all exhibitors for supporting this event over the years, in tough economic conditions and now during rebounding mineral commodity markets and the resultant buoyant mining and exploration drive. Special acknowledgements and gratitude go to our anchor sponsor, RMB, which has generously supported the mining expo to bring enhanced value to exhibitors, which include B2B facilities, B2B meeting rooms, the suppliers’ platform, and the Mining Expo mobile application. 

I also wish to acknowledge and extend special thanks to the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry which has provided a bronze sponsorship, thereby contributing to the success of the event.

In addition to our sponsors, the chamber is also grateful to Emergenci ThreeSixty for availing free emergency services, and to Rent-a-Drum for helping us keep the environment clean through refuse and waste management, and lastly, to Officeconomix for sponsoring furniture outfits.

The chamber is grateful for overwhelming support once again this year, without which we would not be able to achieve our noble objectives.

We are looking forward to a great Mining Expo and Conference.