Vedanta Zinc International to invest N$6.5 billion in local zinc refinery project
Vedanta Zinc International, a subsidiary of London-listed Vedanta Resources, is working on a N$6.5 billion project which will result in Namibia being the only country in Africa to produce refined SHG (Special High Grade) Zinc, making the country a net exporter of Zinc metal.
The Namzinc Refinery Conversion Project, with an expected job creation of about 2000, will enable co-treatment of both sulphides and oxides to produce refined metal.
The production capacity is planned at 150KT per annum with plan to expand to 300KT per annum with the introduction of latest technology and required modifications & additions to existing processing plant.
Vedanta Zinc International in a statement said significant work has been put into the project including the finalisation of the bankable feasibility study
“Once construction is completed, the Refinery is to process zinc concentrate from Gamsberg South Africa and add value in Namibia and export the refined product. Not only in South Africa but elsewhere in SADC and beyond. It will potentially beneficiate zinc concentrates from local Zinc mines in Namibia and then export refined the product. In addition to Zinc production, Skorpion Zinc will also produce sulphuric acid, that may be available for local and export markets,” the company said.
The project’s success depends on few critical factors of which the most significant is availability and affordability of power. The company is currently in discussions with government and other key stakeholders to ensure the availability of power at affordable rates.
Vedanta Zinc International is ready to start execution on the ground subject to finalization of power in a timely manner. The company has enlisted the services of geotechnical experts, SRK Consultants, to do a feasibility study of mining the remaining ore safely.
“We remain optimistic that, we will, in the near future resume mining the remaining ore but this will be feasible only with the Refinery conversion project being executed,” the company added.
