Mines perform well despite challenges

WINDHOEK, 19 APR  – Several mines performed well during the 2017/18 financial year despite challenges experienced in the uranium market.
Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said this in the National Assembly on Wednesday when he motivated the ministry’s N.dollars 402 million allocation of the 2018/19 national budget.
“N.dollars 23 billion was generated from mineral export earnings during the last financial year,” he said.
A total of N.dollars 2.3 million was collected from mineral licences, while royalties added another N.dollars 1.3 billion to the State Revenue Fund.
Petroleum exploration and production rental fees earned the country N.dollars 28 million during the 2017/18 financial year.
The Chamber of Mines of Namibia’s Chief Executive Officer, Veston Malango said earlier this year the outlook for the mining industry showed positive growth in 2017, after the uptick of commodity prices, especially for base metals and minerals such as lithium, graphite, rare earths and cobalt.
The surge in prices for such commodities was driven by electric vehicles and renewable energy storage technology.
The outlook for exploration for these minerals is particularly positive due to an increase in such activity and new projects in 2017.
He explained that the market for battery minerals is emerging and there is a major drive for electric vehicles.

NAMPA