The foundations have been laid
for the future expansion of
the Namibian mining sector,
says Transworld Cargo’s business
development manager, Frank
Gschwender.
“There’s plenty of activity on
the mining front in the country
thanks to its wide range of mineral
deposits ranging from diamonds,
gold, uranium, zinc and fluor spar
to lead concentrate, manganese
and blister copper – and that
diversity helped in times of global
economic uncertainty,” said
Gschwender. “The commodity
prices in 2011/2012 were a mixed
bag of good and bad news with
gold and copper on the high side
and uranium on the low side of
the scale,” he told FTW. “But the
country is on track when it comes
to mining. The Gecko Group,
for instance, recently received
government approval for its
‘Vision Industrial Park’, a chemical
plant complex complemented by a
bulk terminal port to be developed
on a 700-ha area north of the
coastal town of Swakopmund.”
Gschwender said this visionary
plant would produce sulphuric acid
primarily for the uranium mines
and, as by-products, desalinated
water and up to 30 MW of
electricity.
“The group is also busy with
engineering work for developing
Namibia’s first graphite mine, with
planned production as from 2014.”
“If one looks at everything that is
happening it is clear the dominant
macroeconomic role of mining
in Namibia will continue if not
expand,” he said.
But he believes a major
challenge remains the government
stance on mining. “A number of
policy initiatives ranging from
a new income tax regime to
the New Equitable Economic
Empowerment Framework as
well as a Strategic Minerals Policy
have raised international concerns
regarding a future ‘conducive
environment’ for the Namibian
mining sector.”
He said the policy of
‘government wanting a fair
share’ had been countered by the
industry’s feeling of ‘government
is already getting too much’.
The two parties are in
discussions. He said despite these
challenges Transworld Cargo
remained optimistic about the
mining sector. “We are an associate
member of the Chamber of Mines
serving mining operations both in
Namibia and the region, including
the Copperbelt of Zambia and the
DRC.
CAPTION
Frank Gschwender … A major
challenge remains the government
stance on mining.’
