Otjikoto gold mine to send 300 workers home

The Otjikoto gold mine in Otjozondjupa plans to retrench 300 workers from the current 700 by the end of the year, as open pit production falls as the mine prepares to cease operations.

One hundred and seventy-nine positions were already made redundant by the end of 2024. This was shared by the general manager of the mine, Eric Barnard, at a media engagement in Windhoek on Monday.

“This is when we identify positions which are no longer required as we downscale operations and the position is made redundant. We put a freeze on it and learn to live without it,” he said.

He said to date the mine had retrenched 138 people, with 95 of them opting to go under the voluntary retrenchment phase.

“A lot of them have found alternative employment while others did so for personal reasons,” Barnard said, adding that many workers had psychologically prepared themselves to leave the mine, mainly due to communication and engagements the mine had with them.

Barnard said daily ore production had dropped from 100 000 tonnes to about 45 000 tonnes at the end of 2024, and less is expected in 2025.

“This is indicative of the open pit becoming smaller and smaller as we start closing the pit or downscaling to eventually close the pit down and move over to underground operations,” he said.

The mine manager said 175 000 ounces of gold are forecast in 2025 despite a reduction in employees because the grade coming out of the mine has been consistent. The mine has also relied on its stockpile and was able to maintain fairly high gold production levels.

“We have 700 people at the moment, but by December we will have about 400 people on the mine. There will also be a reduction of equipment on the mine,” he said.

– email: matthew@namibian.com.na