MAY 2019 MINING 1 JOURNAL TOO LATE FOR VALUE-ADDITION? Innovation ...Miners are not manufacturers boosts Chamber of Mines Debmarine performance EVOLUTION OF NAMIBIA’S MINING TOWNS NAMIBIA IS NOW CONTRIBUTIONS OF MINING TO THE NAMIBIAN ECONOMY LESS ATTRACTIVE MINING JOURNAL INVESTING IN A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR ALL NAMIBIANS Debmarine Namibia is proud to be a significant contributor to the national treasury and the global leader in marine diamond recovery . MAY 2019 A PUBLICATION OF THE NAMIBIAN | MAY 2019 MINING JOURNAL 3 COMPILED BY Tangeni Amupadhi (Editor) SUB-EDITORS Nick de Voss Matthew Dlamini Tommy Katamila CONTRIBUTORS Adam Hartman Roman Grynberg Nghinomenwa Erastus Angelique Peake Indileni Nanghonga Lazarus Amusheke Paul Cooper PWC Chambers of Mines COVER PHOTO Debmarine Namibia Embracing Innovation DESIGN & LAYOUT Charlton de Waal Lotta Kaapanda SALES Zack Sheehama Phozia Mouton Noriene Van Wyk Morina Britz Lo-Ammi Podewiltz Jezuva Keeja Dwight Links Anna Ndemugwedha PRODUCTION Charlton de Waal MANAGER PRINTERS CTP Printers Phone: +264 61 279 600; Fax: +264 61 279 602 Address: 42 John Meinert Street PO Box 20783, Windhoek, Namibia Publisher: The Free Press of Namibia (Pty) Ltd. All rights are reserved. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of information contained within, no liability can be accepted by the publishers or the contributors for any errors, misstatements or omissions which may have occurred. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Also, the publishers accept no legal liability regarding the copyright ownerships for material which was supplied directly to the publishers by any of the advertisers or contributors. This is a free publication. This special supplement can also be accessed on our website at www.namibian.com.na MINING JOURNALMINING JOURNAL A PUBLICATION OF THE NAMIBIAN Contents URANIUM ... keeping head above water A NAMIBIAN INDUSTRY 34 At Kolmanskop, the sand-filled buildings of a former diamond mining town attract tourists by the thousands. GHOST 42 TOWN 4 NAMIBIA 18-19 NOW ATTRACTIVE LESS PROMOTING MINERS SMALL SCALE MINERS 20 OPERATING IN THE GEMSTONE SMALL Inside... INDUSTRY P-6 FOREWORD – MINISTER TOM ALWEENDO P-8 SIMONIS STORM MINING SECTOR THANK YOU TO OUR REVIEW 2019 P-11 THE GOOSE CONTINUES TO ADVERTISERS LAY GOLDEN EGGS P-14 TOO LATE FOR VALUE ADDITION ? COMPANIES P-20 SMALL MINERS P-22 RMB MINING EXPO 2019 • AFRICA PERSONNEL SERVICES • NAMIBIA SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS P-26 EVOLUTION OF NAMIBIA’S • B2GOLD NAMIBIA • NAMPORT MINING TOWNS • CERALINE • NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION URANIUM INDUSTRY • CYMOT • NHP P-34 • DE BEERS GROUP • NUST P-38 CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF • OLD MUTUAL • DEBMARINE NAMIBIA EXCELLENCE – CHAMBER OF MINES • DINAPAMA • OSINO RESOURCES CORPORATION • DUNDEE • PROTEA CHEMICALS NAMIBIA ,PTY, LTD P-40 WOMEN IN MINING • DUPWIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES • RENAISSANCE HEALTH P-42 GHOST TOWN • FIRST NATIONAL BANK • RÖSSING URANIUM LTD P-44 NAMDEB’S LEGACY • GIZ WINDHOEK OFFICE • SAT-COM • KOMATSU NAMIBIA • SIMUNYE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT P-46 CONTRIBUTIONS OF MINING TO • MANICA GROUP NAMIBIA [PTY] • SWAKOP URANIUM NAMIBIAN ECONOMY – PWC • MINCON NAMIBIA (PTY) LTD • TAURUS MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS NAMIBIA [PTY] LTD P-52 DE BEERS AND THE RUSH TO GEM • MINISTRY OF MINES AND ENERGY • TOTAL NAMIBIA • NAMDEB • ULTRA SCALES WINDHOEK QUALITY SYNTHETICS • NAMIBIA NUCLEAR CORPORATION • VIVO ENERGY NAMIBIA FOREWORD 6 Tom K Alweendo, MP Minister: Mines and Energy IN 2018, the mining sector contributed 14% to our GDP, and that the mining sector will continue to be an important it is expected that by 2022 the sector’s share of the GDP will contributor to the economy only when we discover more exceed 15%. minerals. This huge contribution suggests that for the foreseeable The first thing is that we need to have a good understanding of future, the economy will be dominated by the mining sector. our mineral potential. We need to invest in a comprehensive Given the impact the mining sector has on the economy, it geological mapping. Fortunately, the emerging geological therefore goes without saying that we need to be pragmatic mapping technology has made it possible to obtain accurate in the management of the sector. mineral resource assessments. Because of the importance of the mining sector, it is no The second is to do everything possible to attract surprise that the Namibian people, who are the real owners investment, both local and foreign, in mineral exploration. of the resources, want to know how the mineral resources We also need to be aware of the fact that exploration is a are exploited and utilised. high-risk investment. It is estimated that the chances that an They have a legitimate expectation that the mineral exploration will lead to a successful mining operation is 1: resources are shared equitably. 1000 and the lead-time can be as long as between 10 and A common question being asked is whether the mining 15 years. sector can do more for the economy. Can we not add more In order for us to attract investment in exploration, we value to our minerals before they are exported in raw form? need to do a number of things. One of these things is to What about the mining industry sourcing locally produced periodically review our mineral licensing legal framework. goods and services as inputs for their mining activities? This is necessary in order to ensure that we continue to be What about local ownership of the sector and the issue of competitive in attracting investment, both local and foreign. economic empowerment? It is not helpful when it takes an inordinate long time for us My general answer to these questions is–yes indeed. There to finalise the processing of licensing applications. It will is no reason why we should continue to export all our be self-defeating when we impose impractical licensing minerals in raw form–some of which can easily have value conditions; or when our policies are unpredictable. added to them. Going forward in steering our mining sector to the next What is needed is a comprehensive dialogue between all level for an enhanced contribution to our socio-economic relevant parties, which takes place in an environment of development and prosperity, let us recognise that in this mutual trust. A dialogue that seeks to discover what is in the 21st century, things do not necessarily work like they used to. best interests of all parties. What will be required of us is to unleash the creativity and A dialogue will help us discover that value addition and the brainpower of our people, especially the youth. We also need to have an enabling investment environment are not need to venture into unexplored fields and do things no one mutually exclusive, as some want us to believe. has done before. I am happy to note that such a dialogue has been taking If we, as a collective, approach our challenges in the place between the mining industry and the Ministry of Harambee spirit and with creativity, innovation and Mines and Energy. courage, the mining sector will continue to be an important One important fact that must always be kept in mind is contributor to our socio-economic well-being.n MINING JOURNAL A PUBLICATION OF THE NAMIBIAN SS - MINING SECTOR REVIEW 2019 8 Namibia Mining Sector Review 2019 “Exploring the key trends of 2019” MINING JOURNAL A PUBLICATION OF THE NAMIBIAN SS - MINING SECTOR REVIEW 2019 9 FULL PAGE ADVERT SS - MINING SECTOR REVIEW 2019 10 Ø GOLDEN EGGS Goose continues to lay golden eggs LAZARUS AMUKESHE 11 MINING companies made a record N$30 billion revenue in 2017, surpassing the previous highest figure of about N$28 billion. The high performance bucked the depressive trend of the Namib- WHY CHOOSE ian economy, cementing mining as the main player for the fore- RENAISSANCE HEALTH MEDICAL AID FUND seeable future. The Fund offers a RICH BENEFIT STRUCTURE. From the N$30 billion, the government got N$5,5 billion in taxes, with three fifths of it coming solely from Namdeb Holdings and its The Fund covers in excess of 31 000 LIVES (beneficiaries) subsidiaries. Namdeb, a 50:50 joint venture between the Namibian and is the 3rd largest open Medical Aid Fund in Namibia. government and diamond conglomerate De Beers, has been consist- ent as the single biggest taxpayer. The Fund is MEMBER OWNED and is managed by an independently elected and appointed Board of Trustees. Excluding Namdeb, other mines made N$18 billion revenue in 2017, and the state got about N$2,2 billion in an assortment of taxes The Fund is administered by Prosperity Health Namibia, the and dividends. This is according to information from the Chamber only 100% NAMIBIAN registered and 100% NAMIBIAN of Mines. The figures exclude Swakop Uranium’s Husab mine, a Chi- owned Administrator. nese-controlled mine said to be secretive about how much they earn Renaissance has one of the BEST DEMOGRAPHICS within and pay in taxes. the Industry which contributes to the stable environment and The figures show that the Namdeb group earned approximately lower increases. N$11 billion in 2017 and paid around N$3,3 billion of that to the government. An analysis further shows that of N$2,13 billion paid NATIONAL FOOTPRINT: Renaissance has the widest service footprint throughout Namibia which includes a head office as corporate taxes by all mines, Namdeb’s contribution was N$1,92 in Windhoek and branch offices in Walvis Bay, Ongwediva, Swakopmund, Rosh Pinah, Oranjemund, Lüderitz, Tsumeb billion, about 90%. and Keetmanshoop. Further dissection shows Rosh Pinah Zinc, who earned N$1,55 bil- lion, paid the second highest corporate tax at N$213 million. Thus, N$2,13 billion of corporate tax was paid by two entities with THE NEW a N$13 billion combined revenue, while other mines with a tally of BENEFIT WALLET REWARD PROGRAMME N$16 billion paid less than N$100 million.