Question 1 - Already answered but just addded this from their presentation:
SCOPING STUDY - Infrastructure
*Excellent location close to major port, roads, labour, rail and other mines. Located just 30 km east of the coastal town of Swakopmund and 40km northeast of the major seaport of Walvis Bay, Namibia. Rössing and Langer Heinrich uranium mines in region.
*Government utilities addressing Power and Water issues for industry - NamPower currently upgrading national energy infrastructure. - Namwater to construct a major desalination plant 60km from site for industry usage. - MoU now signed between BMN and NamWater. - Discussions underway with both utilities.
Question 2 - Also commented on, but research into Nambia shows it to be one of THE MOST politically stable country in Africa along with Botswana. Also rated the 2nd best country in the WORLD for mining as far as sovereign risk goes. You need to bear in mind that the U mining companies are pouring $Billions into the Namibian economy, employing large numbers of local people in all fields, and significantly assisting local communities.
The likes of RIO, BMN, EXT, PDN & the like will play significant roles in the future of this country
Some info from Miningnews.com.....
Follow the yellowcake road – to Namibia Thursday, September 06, 2007
Peter Batten, managing director of Bannerman Resources and one of a slew of Australians exploring for uranium in the country, believes Namibia is "Africa for beginners".
It's safe, clean, and while poverty and disease are still major issues facing the country's mainly black population, Namibia has a far better reputation than some of its other sub-Saharan neighbours, like Angola.
In fact, Namibia is not just a mining mecca; it is a hugely popular tourist destination, especially for visitors from Germany and South Africa, who flock to the country's iconic skeleton coast where 300m-high sand dunes meet the Atlantic Ocean.
And the first thing that strikes a visitor to the country, after jumping off a plane at the regional centre of Walvis Bay, is just how good the roads are.
It's a cliché that Africa will be hot, dusty and difficult to get around, and while Namibia has its fair share of dust and sand - and can get extremely hot - the well-sealed and well-maintained roads are equal to any (and some may say better) than you'd see in Australia.
Namibia also rates low in the sovereign risk stakes. The nation's Government is democratically elected and the country is free of the strife gripping many other African countries.
In fact, in the RESOURCESTOCKS World Risk Survey of 2007 Namibia came in at number two, making it a riskier place than Sweden, and firmly outranking Botswana at number seven and Australia which came in at eighth place.
As for the infrastructure in Namibia ..... Namibia's power usage is growing and the Government has moved to expand the national power utility's capacity through a coal plant as well as gas power from the Kudu gas fields, 170km offshore.
The Namibian water utility has also committed to building a desalination plant by the end of 2009 with water to go to uranium miners – both existing and new.
These moves have been welcomed by companies operating in the area as further signs of the Government's commitment to the mining industry and the contribution it makes to the Namibian economy.
And then there's the population of Namibia. Most companies operating in the country employ large numbers of local people, which not only helps boost the country's GDP and deal with the poverty and related issues such as illness, it also drives down operating costs for companies.
Both Bannerman and Extract, for example, employ large numbers of Namibian staff operating the drill rigs and working as geologists, driller's assistants and labourers.
Extract has even hired local staff to help the company construct a camp at its Husab project – even down to edging the roads with stones to keep four-wheel drives on the path and avoid damage to the Erongo national park.
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