The Mineral Industry of Namibia in 2016
2016 Minerals Yearbook NAMIBIA [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. Department of the Interior February 2020 U.S. Geological Survey The Mineral Industry of Namibia By James J. Barry In 2016, the diamond sector continued to be a significant 16%, for Swakop Uranium; about 10%, for Rössing Uranium contributor to Namibia’s economy. In terms of the average Ltd.; and 9% each, for B2Gold Namibia (Pty) Ltd., De Beers value of diamond production in dollars per carat ($533), the Marine Namibia (Pty) Ltd. (Debmarine), and Skorpion Zinc and country ranked second in the world after Lesotho. In terms of Namzinc (Pty) Ltd. (Chamber of Mines of Namibia, 2017, p. 19, the total value of its rough diamond production ($915 million), 90–91). the country ranked fifth after South Africa. Namibia was ranked ninth in the world in terms of rough diamond production by Production weight (carats). Namibia’s total diamond exports were valued at In 2016, copper electrowon production increased by 54% about $1.1 billion (about 1.9 million carats of diamond) in 2016. to 16,391 metric tons (t) from 10,659 t in 2015, which was According to the World Nuclear Association, Namibia’s Rössing attributed to the Tschudi Mine reaching nameplate capacity Mine and Langer Heinrich Mine were capable of providing 10% of 17,000 metric tons per year (t/yr). Uranium production of the world’s uranium output; the Langer Heinrich Mine was increased by 22% to 3,654 t (uranium content) in 2016 from one of the leading producing uranium mines in the world. The 2,993 t in 2015.
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