Defiant Xinfeng builds mine in the desert

Augetto Graig
Operations at the Chinese lithium miner Xinfeng's open pit mine, about 70 km outside Uis, continue.

Along the dirt road to Henties Bay and then deep into the open Namib Desert plains of the Tsiseb conservation area, mechanical diggers extract cavities from the earth.

Dump trucks are loaded with soil to pile loads on the ridges of the new ore dump mountains. Square blocks are prepared for bulk blasting at various locations. Crews operate mobile drilling rigs while bulldozers move back and forth. A fleet of around eighty trucks stands ready in the parking lot, not far from the office facilities and the housing that has been built on the site.

Mining rush

According to sources, no mining for the sought-after mineral deposit has taken place yet, but Xinfeng's eagerness is evident. On Thursday, several trucks were dispatched to update their registration at Natis in Karibib.

The small mining town of Uis sits squarely in the middle of an international rush for lithium. The Andrada tin mine, which dominates the town centre, announced last month that it could produce additional lithium concentrate alongside its usual tin concentrate.

The adjustments to the Andrada plant should be fully operational in July, according to the South African miner.

Job opportunities

Meanwhile, Chief Zacharias Seibeb of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority in Uis says disgruntled protesters who objected to lithium miners earlier this year are uninformed about how exclusive prospecting licences (EPL) and mining licences are awarded.

According to him, more than 88 EPLs had already been approved before anyone approached the traditional authority for permission letters. However, only two exclusive prospecting licences are currently active, he says.

Seibeb believes that mining investors can bring development and jobs to his impoverished community and that he cannot simply reject them.

"The Chinese are sitting with the papers from the ministry of mines and energy. The EPL, mining claims, the mining licences, and prospecting licences are all awarded by the ministry of mines and energy. We are not mining inspectors, and after we give permission, it is in the hands of the ministry," he says.

Not in charge

According to him, Xinfeng had already bought its EPL and claims from Namibians and had them approved by the mining ministry even before the traditional authority was approached for permission.

"Even if the traditional authority wanted to refuse, the minister or the inspector, or the mining commissioner can still continue to grant a licence. I am also worried for my people; if we were to say no, how would we be able to ask for help after that?"

According to Seibeb, Andrada has offered jobs to residents of the town on three occasions, and even lowered requirements to accommodate more. With Xinfeng, a discussion about how they would accommodate residents did take place, but was not repeated since the protest, Seibeb says.

Judgment

Xinfeng is also facing opposition from the mines and energy minister, Tom Alweendo, who wants to revoke their mining licence 243 for their other lithium mine outside Omaruru. Judgment on an urgent application brought in this regard was postponed until 7 June by Judge Ramon Maasdorp on Friday.

In court documents, Xinfeng says the Omaruru mine has been idle since December, and according to a guard at the gate, the entire workforce has since moved to Uis.

In the meantime, the people of Uis continue with their ancient practises, and small miners exploit claims in the surrounding mountains.

According to Seibeb, foreigners are now also buying lithium in addition to selling semi-precious stones to tourists.

Small miners are concerned about their hold on their claims with the increase in large claims. Australia's Aksari's EPL is also located in the town between ML129 and ML134, which belongs to Andrada. Officials from Andrada, the mining ministry, and the ministry of the environment, forestry and tourism visited small miners' houses west of the town last week. They did not want to divulge the reasons for the visits.

[email protected]

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-05-18

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Premier League: Manchester United 3 vs 2 Newcastle | Brighton 1 vs 2 Chelsea LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 0 Valencia | Almería 0 vs 2 Barcelona | Las Palmas 2 vs 2 Real Betis | Celta Vigo 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Getafe 0 vs 3 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 2 Napoli European Championships Qualifying: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City English Championship: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City Katima Mulilo: 10° | 31° Rundu: 10° | 30° Eenhana: 12° | 31° Oshakati: 13° | 31° Ruacana: 12° | 31° Tsumeb: 14° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 12° | 27° Omaruru: 13° | 30° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Gobabis: 13° | 27° Henties Bay: 19° | 33° Wind speed: 41km/h, Wind direction: NE, Low tide: 06:32, High tide: 12:50, Low Tide: 18:28, High tide: 00:56 Swakopmund: 20° | 23° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:48, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:54 Walvis Bay: 22° | 32° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:47, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:53 Rehoboth: 12° | 27° Mariental: 16° | 29° Keetmanshoop: 17° | 29° Aranos: 16° | 29° Lüderitz: 19° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 16° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 31° Luanda: 24° | 28° Gaborone: 13° | 27° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 11° | 23° Maseru: 8° | 23° Antananarivo: 14° | 24° Lilongwe: 15° | 26° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Cape Town: 15° | 20° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 15° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 15° | 26° Harare: 12° | 26° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.01 | EUR to NAD 19.73 | CNY to NAD 2.51 | USD to NAD 18.15 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.7 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.55 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.35 | USD to AOA 847.42 | USD to BWP 13.49 | USD to EGP 46.86 | USD to KES 130.48 | USD to NGN 1467 | USD to ZAR 18.15 | USD to ZMW 25.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 79530.63 Up +0.03% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1754.58 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13426.13 Up +0.11% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 26142.84 Up +3.27% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 414.72/OZ UP +1.55% | Copper US$ 5.04/lb UP +4.12% | Zinc US$ 3 059.30/T UP 0.11% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 84.28/BBP UP +0.60% | Platinum US$ 1 084.88/OZ UP +2.19% Sport results: Premier League: Manchester United 3 vs 2 Newcastle | Brighton 1 vs 2 Chelsea LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 0 Valencia | Almería 0 vs 2 Barcelona | Las Palmas 2 vs 2 Real Betis | Celta Vigo 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Getafe 0 vs 3 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 2 Napoli European Championships Qualifying: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City English Championship: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 10° | 31° Rundu: 10° | 30° Eenhana: 12° | 31° Oshakati: 13° | 31° Ruacana: 12° | 31° Tsumeb: 14° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 12° | 27° Omaruru: 13° | 30° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Gobabis: 13° | 27° Henties Bay: 19° | 33° Wind speed: 41km/h, Wind direction: NE, Low tide: 06:32, High tide: 12:50, Low Tide: 18:28, High tide: 00:56 Swakopmund: 20° | 23° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:48, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:54 Walvis Bay: 22° | 32° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:47, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:53 Rehoboth: 12° | 27° Mariental: 16° | 29° Keetmanshoop: 17° | 29° Aranos: 16° | 29° Lüderitz: 19° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 16° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 31° Luanda: 24° | 28° Gaborone: 13° | 27° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 11° | 23° Maseru: 8° | 23° Antananarivo: 14° | 24° Lilongwe: 15° | 26° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Cape Town: 15° | 20° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 15° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 15° | 26° Harare: 12° | 26° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.01 | EUR to NAD 19.73 | CNY to NAD 2.51 | USD to NAD 18.15 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.7 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.55 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.35 | USD to AOA 847.42 | USD to BWP 13.49 | USD to EGP 46.86 | USD to KES 130.48 | USD to NGN 1467 | USD to ZAR 18.15 | USD to ZMW 25.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 79530.63 Up +0.03% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1754.58 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13426.13 Up +0.11% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 26142.84 Up +3.27% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 414.72/OZ UP +1.55% | Copper US$ 5.04/lb UP +4.12% | Zinc US$ 3 059.30/T UP 0.11% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 84.28/BBP UP +0.60% | Platinum US$ 1 084.88/OZ UP +2.19%