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Saturday, October 16, 2010 Home Archives Contact Us Black Namibians left out of uranium boom
ALTHOUGH the uranium industry is booming with Namibia tipped as becoming one of the worlds?s biggest uranium producers in the next five years, black Namibians have virtually no stake in the industry in terms of Exclusive Prospecting Licences (EPLs).
Responding to a question about the lack of black participation in the industry, the Ministry of Mines and Energy said it had received only one application and granted one uranium exploration EPL to Malakia Amakutuwa.
?First of all, it is important to note that all these companies are registered in Namibia. To our knowledge, only one black Namibian applied in his own name, and was granted EPLs for Uranium exploration. The person referred to here, is Mr. Malakia Amakutuwa.
?Obviously, as you may be aware, Mr Amakutuwa sought foreign partners and the EPL was transferred into what they present as a joint venture company. A dispute has occurred at the moment and this issue is in the Supreme Court,? the ministry said.
The Ministry said all the uranium companies registered in Namibia have majority foreign participation, as a result of negotiated agreements between the Namibians (black, coloured, and white) and foreigners.
?Some are held entirely by foreigners, who include Chinese, Russians, Canadians and Australians,? the Ministry said.
?It is important to note that many of the EPLs were granted for the first time in November 2006 for only one year instead of the normal three years. The intention was to see which applicants would undertake exploration seriously; and they all did, because the last 4 to 5 years witnessed a boom in the uranium industry in Namibia.?
Who owns what?
The only companies mining uranium right now are R?ssing Uranium and Langer Heinrich that have one mining licence each.
Areva and Valencia Uranium also have mining licences and both expect to commence mining soon.
Swakop Uranium has two EPLs, one of which will expire on in February 2011, and another in November 2011.
Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia has two EPLs.
The company has applied for renewal of one of its licences, which the ministry is considering while the other licence will expire in April 2011.
Reptile Uranium Namibia has four EPLs; the renewal of its two licences is pending while the other two will expire in June next year.
Marenica Minerals has one EPL, which will expire in June 2011. Metals Namibia, which is embroiled in a court dispute over the ownership of its licences, has two licences whose renewal is pending.
Zhonghe Resources (Namibia) Development has two EPLs both of which expire in July next year.
Nova Energy Namibia has three EPLs and has applied for the renewal of the licences. Ancash Investments has four licences. The company is also entangled in a court case and the ministry has in the meantime set aside the renewal of the licences.
Extract Resources has two EPLs, one licence is being renewed while the other one will expire in November 2011.
Namura Mineral Resources has eight EPLs; one licence will expire in September next year while the renewal of the rest of the licences is pending.
Erongo Energy (Pty) has four EPLs; two of the licences will expire in June next year, while the renewal of the other two is pending.
SWA Uranium Mines has three EPLs; two expire in January 2012 while one will expire in August 2012.
Green Mineral Resources has two EPLs both of which will expire in November next year. Dunefield Mining Company has one EPL whose renewal is pending. ? [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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