Rössing increases support to local suppliers in 2020
Rössing Uranium spent N$2.77 billion on locally procured goods and services in 2020, slightly more than the N$2.72 billion in 2019.
Rössing’s Managing Director, Johan Coetzee, in the company’s 2020 stakeholder report said despite the impact of the coronavirus, the company remains committed to supporting local suppliers and developing Namibian SMEs.
The bulk of the company’s spend in the country remained in the Erongo Region (38%) and Khomas Region (50%). According to Coetzee, spend within the Erongo Region reduced significantly due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures imposed on the region, which negatively impacted suppliers’ operations.
During 2020, Rössing invested N$25.8 million in local communities, directly and through the Rössing Foundation.
“Rössing Uranium has been a feature of the Namibian economy for close to 45 years and is therefore well versed in the nation’s mining business making significant contributions to the development of Namibia. With the current challenges, we are confident that Rössing will continue to be a major supplier of energy to the world, as well as delivering value to our shareholders and other stakeholders,” Coetzee said.
Furthermore, Rössing’s total procurement from international suppliers amounted to N$227 million, representing 8% of total procurement expenditure, excluding South Africa, where goods and services to the value of N$370 million (14%) of total procurement was spend.
“2020 was an unforgettable year in terms of global events and their consequent impact on the uranium industry. With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the world swiftly and badly during the year, it underlined the importance of electricity reliability and resilience during times of major disruption,” Coetzee said.
In 2020, Rössing produced 5.5 million pounds U3O8. A total of 2 million pounds were shipped to western converters and sold to customers in North America, Asia (excluding China), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). A total of 4 million pounds, including some production from the 2019 year, were shipped to China and sold to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Rössing continued to benefit from the contractual sales prices in its historical contract portfolio, as well as the beneficial CNNC off-take agreement, with an average sales price across the entire portfolio well above the average spot price for the year.
At the end of 2020, Rössing Uranium had a workforce totalling 955 compared with 1,000 at the end of 2019, with 98.8% of the workforce being Namibian and only 1.2% expatriates from other nationalities.
