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3.3 Trekkopje

The Trekkopje deposit is located on communal land in the Namib desert 35 km north of the Rössing mine. The proven reserves are at a very low grade of 126 ppm of uranium; that is less than half of the grade at the Rössing mine.
UraMin was the company that explored for uranium in Namibia and in other African countries. The company presented the preliminary environmental impact assessment in March 2006 and in 2008, UraMin sold the Trekkopje project to French uranium giant Areva for US$ 2.5 billion on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This deal had far reaching consequences.²⁸
In February 2009, the Ministry of Mines granted a mining licence to Areva Resources Namibia for the Trekkopje deposit. The licence is valid for 25 years with an option of renewal thereafter. In 2010, a US$ 3.5 billion uranium deal between Areva and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. was finalised during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to France. Under this contract, 20,000 tons of U₃O₈ will be supplied to the Chinese company over a period of 10 years.
Full production of uranium at Trekkopje was postponed from 2011 to 2012 and again to 2013, when eventually Areva announced that the mine will be mothballed: “Depressed uranium prices have forced French energy giant Areva to put its US$ 1 billion Namibian Trekkopje project under care and maintenance until prices improve”, Areva said in a statement released in October 2013. More than 100 workers lost their job. Because of the low grade, Trekkopje is only viable at a long-term uranium price of US$ 70-80 per pound.

3.4 Uranium mines under construction or planned

3.4.1 Husab

Husab (formerly Rössing South) is located in the northern part of the Namib Naukluft National Park, about 12 km southeast of Arandis and 60 km northeast of Walvis Bay. It is estimated that Husab will produce 8,000 tons of U₃O₈ per annum and mine for uranium until around 2028 (Reuters, 27 Oct 2011).
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC), the owner of the Husab project, announced in November 2012 that with Husab one of the world's biggest uranium mines will begin operating in Namibia by the end of 2015. CGNPC is owned by the Chinese government. Swakop Uranium (Pty) Ltd will operate the mine for CGNPC.
The Minister of Mines and Energy announced in 2011 that the mining and exploration rights of all strategic minerals in Namibia belong to Epangelo²⁹, and that the foreign companies would have to partner with the state-owned enterprise. In 2012, in a transaction valued at nearly N$ 1.9 billion, Epangelo secured a 10% stake in the Husab mine, set to make Namibia the second biggest uranium producer in the world (The Namibian, 30 Nov 2012).
According to the environmental impact assessment finished in 2010, the project footprint will be approximately 1,900 ha (19 km²). The two open pits with a depth of 400 m and the waste facilities will remain after closure; the open pits will not be backfilled.
WISE-Uranium reviewed the EIA and found miscalculations underestimating the doses from radon inhalation, and a lack of post-closure scenarios besides other lapses.³⁰
After considering joining forces with the well established Rössing uranium mine in terms of production, which would have made construction of many facilities superfluous, the owners of the Husab mine confirmed that the mine will go completely solo and will operate independently.

3.4.2 Valencia

In August 2008, Canadian Forsys Metals Corp. announced that the ministry has granted a 25 year mining licence to Valencia Uranium (Pty) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forsys, and that production is expected at the end of 2009. 1,115 tons of uranium per annum over an 11 year lifespan was estimated. The ore with 0.01% of uranium is of low grade. To reach the ore, 122 million tons of waste rock must be removed. The final pit will be 14 km long, 700 m wide and 360 m deep.
So far none of the above did happen for reasons unknown to the author. However, it is assumed that water shortage might cause the delay. The mine will require 3 million m³ of water per annum, an amount state owned NamWater cannot supply. Farm owners in the Valencia area, fearing a drastic impact on their water supply, started a court case against Forsys.

3.4.3 Etango

Australian mining company Bannerman Resources owns 80% of the Etango uranium project (formerly Guanikontes), one of the world’s largest undeveloped uranium projects, situated on the flat Namib desert sands, adjacent to the moon-landscape, a famous tourist attraction, approximately 38 km east of Swakopmund.
A license has been issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Start of production was planned by 2015; however, as the life-of-mine breakeven point is approximately US$ 61 per pound of U₃O_8, further development of the project was halted until the uranium price recovers (at the end of 2013 the price was about US$ 35). Surprisingly, in a background information document distributed early January 2014, it was announced that Bannerman Resources plans to build a heap leach pilot facility to do test work on representative ore material and ensure that the heap leach methodology is fine-tuned to best suit this specific ore type. Bannerman will start the construction of a small test plant near the Swakop River in order to improve the production method of uranium oxide. This specific activity is not part of the EIA produced by Bannerman and raises concern amongst environmentalists.

3.4.4 Deep Yellow

Australia based uranium explorer Deep Yellow Ltd is busy with test work and drilling at its Omahola Uranium project, and also studies to progress the Tubas Sand project. The deposits are located in the southern part of the Namib Naukluft Park about 5 km from the world-famous Gobabeb Training and Research Centre.
Environmentalists fear that construction of a mine in the area will mean the loss of invaluable treasure of environmental and geological diversity. The Topnaar village of South Rivier is only 1 km away form the deposit. The Topnaar community is seriously concerned about the impacts of mining and fear for their livelihood. Residents complained about the absence of consultation and inconsiderate behaviour by the company.

3.4.5 Marenica

Marenica is located immediately north of the Trekkopje mine. The exploration licence was originally issued till 2008 and renewed until 2014. Marenica Energy Ltd is an Australia based company. The major shareholder is China’s Hanlong Energy Ltd. Its strategy is to focus on the evaluation of Marenica as well as to develop the upgrading beneficiation process to increase the uranium produce and apply the technology to other uranium deposits globally. The ore grade is very low, ranking between 110 and 92 ppm.

3.4.6 Zhonghe

The Zhonghe licensing area is located in the Namib desert, with the Rössing and Husab uranium mines (the latter owned by another China based company) in the immediate vicinity of it. The operation requires 2 million m³ of water per year and a power supply of 20-30 MW which is a lot compared to some other mine’s demands.
In November 2012, the ministry issued a mining licence to Zhonghe Resources Namibia Development (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation. The license was granted without an EIA being conducted, which is clearly against Namibian law. The public became aware of the project only after the licence was issued and public concerns could not be expressed anymore.
Keeping in mind that the majority owner of Zhonghe is one of several China based state-owned companies which are hunting for uranium throughout the world, it is very likely that this uranium mine will be commissioned in the foreseeable future.
Prospecting for uranium is taking place in many more sites in the Erongo Region, all located in the Namib Naukluft National Park and Dorob National Park, which are category one protected areas, where some other countries prohibit mining activities altogether.