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MODERN MINING
September 2015
feature
COUNTRY FOCUS –
NAMIBIA
The Langer Heinrich ura-
niummine, which produced
just over 5 Mlb (roughly
2 268 tonnes) of uranium
oxide in the year to 30 June
2015 (photo: Paladin
Energy).
when operations started at
Langer Heinrich
to the south-east of Rössing. Developed by
Australia’s Paladin Energy (although partly
owned today by China National Nuclear Corp,
which has a 25 % stake), Langer Heinrich is
said to be the lowest-cost open-pit uranium
mine in the world. Since being commissioned,
it has been expanded twice, taking its capacity
to well over 5 Mlb/a, and a fourth expansion
is planned once uranium prices recover suffi-
ciently. In the year to 30 June 2015, the mine
produced just over 5 Mlb (roughly 2 268
tonnes) of uranium oxide, bigger than the fig-
ure for Rössing.
Between them, Rössing and Langer Heinrich
accounted for 5,8 % of world uranium produc-
tion in 2014, making Namibia the world’s fifth
biggest producer behind Kazakhstan (40,64 %
of the total), Canada (15,77 %), Australia
(9,12 %) and Niger (7,99 %) but ahead of
Russia (5,35 %) and Uzbekistan (4,29 %). The
country is expected to lift its ranking once the
new US$2 billion
Husab
mine, which has a
design capacity of 15 million pounds (6 800
tonnes) of uranium oxide a year, enters full
production. A large-scale, open-pit mine,
Husab is employing a formidable earthmoving
fleet including three giant Cat 7495 electric
rope shovels. It is being developed by Swakop
Uranium, which in turn is controlled by China
Guangdong Nuclear Power Holdings Company
Limited (CGNPC) and the China-Africa
Development Fund (CADFund). The plant is
due to start commissioning later this year with
first production expected in 2016 and full pro-
duction being attained in 2017.
The area to the east of Swakopmund is
also host to a fourth mine, Areva’s
Trekkopje
,
which was at an advanced stage of develop-
ment (with a pilot phase in operation) when a
decision was taken to mothball it in 2012 as a
result of the downward trend in the uranium
price. Designed as a low-grade, open pit opera-
tion and with processing (unusually) via an
alkaline leach process, Trekkopje will have the
capacity to produce up to 3 200 t/a of U
3
O
8
.
Interestingly, Namibia’s first desalination plant
was built to supply water to the mine and was
opened in 2010.
No overview of uranium in Namibia would
be complete without at least mentioning the
fact that there is a host of uranium projects at
various stages of development in the country’s
‘uranium belt’ to the east of Swakopmund,
among them Bannerman’s
Etango
project,
Marenica Energy’s
Marenica
project and Forsys
Metals’
Norasa
project. Bannerman appears to
be the most active of the development stage
companies with a very comprehensive DFS
in place and with a heap leach demonstra-
tion plant having recently been successfully
completed on site. If it does eventually go into
construction, Etango will be a very big mine.
The DFS envisages that the project will produce
7-9 Mlb U
3
O
8
per year for the first five years and
6-8 Mlb U
3
O
8
per year thereafter.
Turning to copper, Namibia is only a minor
producer, with the Tsumeb and Kombat mines
long closed. All of the country’s primary cop-
per production is fromWeatherly International,
whose shares trade on London’s AIM. Earlier
this year, Weatherly commissioned its
Tschudi