Namibia may not have the uranium reserves of the top three uranium producing countries, but it does have advantages. The country of Namibia, bordering South Africa, Botswana, Angola and the South Atlantic Ocean, is one of the world's key uranium producers – supplying global utilities with between six and eight percent of the uranium oxide.
Namibia is a uranium-friendly mining country. In October 2005, Mine and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina told the country's National Assembly, "Namibia should consider exploiting its uranium ore reserves in the light of rising world uranium prices." The country has already been doing so, through Rio Tinto Group's Rossing uranium mine for the past 25 years, which provides jobs to more than 800 employees. With the addition of the Paladin Resources' Langer Heinrich, more uranium will be mined.
The Rossing is one of the largest open pit uranium mines in the world and with solid reserves. According to the company's website, this mine "currently produces about 7.7 percent of the world's uranium." The Rossing uranium deposit is an intrusive deposit, with intrusive rocks in this category which include alaskite, granite, pegmatite and monzonites. Around the world similar type deposits include South Africa's Palabora and Greenland's Ilimausaq. In South Australia, a similar intrusive deposit – Radium Hill – was mined from 1954-1962.
We interviewed Graham Greenway, formerly chief geologist for Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine, about developments in the country. Before becoming a resource evaluator for Snowden Mining Industry Consultants in Johannesburg, Greenway evaluated resource deposits for the Rossing Mine as the mine's chief geologist. Snowden is a highly respected international mining consultant firm with offices in Johannesburg, Perth, Brisbane, London and Vancouver.
Would it be possible Namibia will have four uranium mines before the decade ends? "It wouldn't surprise me," Greenway said. "When I look over at Rossing, they are also looking for alternative sources of uranium around the Rossing area." One of the uranium deposits Greenway evaluated for Rossing was Forsys Metals' Valencia deposit. "They and Rio Tinto have a wealth of information about the exploration done up to Valencia," Greenway told us. "There is quite a bit of interest in that area."
Is the Valencia an economic deposit or not? We asked because we wanted to know if this might be Namibia's third, or possibly fourth, uranium mine. "I would think so, yes," Greenway responded, "Under the right conditions, I think it could be economic under the current mining plan." For the record, in his technical report, Greenway wrote, "… the Valencia Project represents an advanced staged uranium project that has potential for development as an economically viable mining operation." He also wrote in his technical report, "Uranium mineralization has been identified over an area of 1,100 meters north-south by 500 meters east-west."
