That's very useful Inge Z-K is of course an influentual Extract...

That's very useful Inge Z-K is of course an influentual Extract board member and the point she makes about Namdeb except that Nemdeb was already an established operation when the govt got 50% (in 1994),
Its one thing to negotiate a joint venture between an established firm and a state company, another when it concerns a mining project still to get to production and cash generation.

Here's an interesting and informed take on the Epangelo issue.

Fuel Cycle Week

Vol. 10 ? No. 422 ? April 28, 2011

AFRICAN PROJECTS
Uranium to be Strategic
Mineral in Namibia
By Roger Murray, Special Correspondent
Has Namibia suddenly decided to adopt resource nationalism in the
development of its key mineral resources?
That was certainly the view of much of the local press and some international
mining commentators following a keynote policy statement by the Minister of
Mines and Energy Isak Katali in the Namibian parliament last week.
Katali presented his ministry?s 2011/12 (April-March) budget report on April
20, revealing that Namibia?s cabinet had approved a declaration that uranium,
coal, gold, copper and zinc were ?strategic? minerals. There was nothing
alarming in this, as the local mining industry had expected it for some time.
But the written budget report, which Katali read out to MPs, added that the
cabinet?s declaration had taken ?a view of allowing the exclusive exploration
and mining? by the state-owned company, Epangelo Mining. Katali added that
the overall aim was to enable the Namibian citizen ?to fully reap the benefits
arising from the rich endowment of our mineral resources.?
The Namibian daily newspaper reported this under the headline ?Govt pockets
all rights to mine uranium.?
?Just as you give a nation a clean bill of health, it goes on a foot-shooting
spree,? commented mining analyst David Hargreaves in The Week in Mining
(published by London-based XCap) on April 23.
Local Mining Industry Undaunted
But senior local mining industry sources who spoke with FCW on condition of
non-attribution stressed that, based on information from their regular contacts
with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the government had no intention of
withholding mining licenses for major planned developments, in favor of
Epangelo.
continued from Uranium to be Strategic on page 1
The Etango project of Bannerman Resources and Husab project
of Extract Resources both have license applications pending.
FCW was told local industry widely believed that, while the
government would push foreign companies to form joint-venture
partnerships with Epangelo, the state-owned mining firm would
pay for any equity shareholdings it acquires. Namibia?s Prime
Minister Nahas Angula made it clear that this would be the
policy at a meeting with leading mining industry representatives
last year.
The Namibian industry?s consensus appears to be that Epangelo
would apply for its own exclusive prospecting licenses and
forge partnerships to participate in mining and exploration on
commercial terms. The reference to Epangelo having ?exclusive?
rights, FCW was told, meant just that, and no more.
?The reality is that they will have to engage in partnerships as
they currently have neither the funding nor the technical capacity
to undertake any license on their own,? one source said. Katali
is also expected to issue a clarification of the policy to reassure
foreign investors, the source added.
The Namibian government established Epangelo at the end of
2009 and allocated it an initial N$5 million (US$0.7 million) in the
2011/12 national budget. This gives it little financial wherewithal
to pursue large-scale exploration and mining programs on its
own. So far it has recruited only a skeleton staff.
Extract has previously confirmed that it is discussing Epangelo?s
possible participation in its US$1.7 billion Husab project. It
currently awaits a proposal from the state-owned company.
?We are keen to work with them, we think it is of benefit for the
project in long term,? Extract Chairman Steve Galloway told the
local press earlier this month.
A new mining law that the government is now finalizing to replace
the existing Minerals (Prospecting and Mining Act) of 1992,
according to Katali, would enable Epangelo ?to fully participate?
in exploration and mineral development. This lends weight to the
local industry?s interpretation that the state-owned mining firm
would seekminority equity partnerships not exclusive ownership
for new developments.
Namibia?s Foreign Affairs Minister Utoni Nujoma reiterated
this at an April 26 private dinner in London for institutional
investors in Kalahari Minerals, which owns 43% of Extract.
FCW understands that Nujoma did not discuss the specifics of
Epangelo?s involvement, but noted that Namibia was well aware
that it generally ranked second compared to Botswana as Africa?s
premier mining investment destination?and wanted to occupy
the top spot. Clearly, any sudden switch to a resource nationalist
policy would not achieve that goal.
$3B Investment in the Pipeline
The importance of new mining developments to Namibia?s
economic growth prospects was highlighted in the mining
ministry?s budget report, which estimated that ?advanced-stage
projects? (those either committed or under construction) in
Namibia are worth N$24 billion ($3.2 billion).
Restricting exploration and mining rights for uranium and other
strategic minerals would also likely stop investment in its tracks,
and little of the N$24 billion would be invested if the government
changed the rules of the game midstream, FCW was told.
It should also be noted that the government has not yet declared
uranium and the other minerals ?strategic? and this is not
expected to happen for some time. While the government
appears set to require an equity shareholding for Epangelo, and/
or black economic empowerment (BEE) groups when granting
new mining licenses for strategic minerals in future, this will not
apply to pending mining applications for current projects such
as Etango and Husab.
BEE Firms Warned
Katali said that Namibia?s BEE law, known as the Transformation
and Empowerment Socio-Economic Framework, would
introduce specific BEE charters for the mining, petroleum and
electricity sectors.
But he warned that the government was aware of abuses by
?BEE companies fronting and licensees selling out? exclusive
prospecting licenses. In addition, mineral resource transactions
worth ?phenomenal amounts [of money]? that ?only benefit a
few? had been concluded outside Namibian borders without
ministerial approval, he said.
The government would ?design policies that ensure that the state
derives benefits from such future transactions? in consultation
with the local mining sector, he added.