IMO the quote from Eliphas Hawala (Epangelo CEO) helps to clarify the situation and appears consistent with what Katali (Mining Minister) said in the press recently. Namely: Epangelo is not about taking possession of mining interests. Rather they want to buy in with cash and rapidly develop the resource infrastructure for the benefit of all concerned.
Epangelo CEO Eliphas Hawala told Reuters:
"All mining rights in Namibia are vested in the state, including those currently being mined by private companies."
"The issue is how these rights are controlled through licences. The timeline involved is the prerogative of the state, also depending on consultations with all relevant stakeholders," he added. He said Epangelo planned to enter into joint ventures with parties interested in exploration and mining.
The JV partners mentioned here are not Epangelo and the miners (via forced marriage). Its Epangelo Mining and Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ - Rosatom Russia). They have the cash to buy in ($US 1 billion), the capacity to develop the mine, and an unlimited license to explore and mine anywhere in Namibia. Thus they have a considerable advantage over other parties interested in investing in Namibia's resources (eg China). So I think they intend to play on a level playing field but with a considerable advantage.
The Namibian - 29 July 2010
Its also important to set up Epangelo to see to sustainable exploitation of mineral resources, to ensure local beneficiation of raw materials and to enter into joint-venture partnerships "with interested states and companies with similar objectives and corporate structures," according to Katali.
"The final objective of the company is to finance mining projects. This would ensure that an extremely capital-intensive industry where often well-positioned resources cannot be exploited with ultimate benefit to the State, may be capitalised. This would avoid the current situation where [mining] of mineral resources is stagnating due to lack of funding," Katali said.
The US$1 billion would go into development of uranium deposits, production and training in uranium mining and value addition, the chief executive officer of Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said then.
"This would also complement Government initiatives already existing to finance mining initiatives."
http://allafrica.com/stories/201007290255.html
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