New mineral rights applications now being accepted – Mines Ministry
The Ministry of Mines and Energy will now be accepting new mineral rights applications, following the lapse of the suspension that had been placed between 18 November 2020, to 17 August 2021.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo announced this in a statement on occasion of the opening of the 2021 Virtual Mining Conference with the theme: “The Namibian Mining Industry’s Resilience and Growth Post COVID-19”.
According to Alweendo, his ministry was able to streamline its administrative processes and is now in a position to adjudicate new applications in a timely fashion.
“The suspension has expired and as of today, we are now accepting new applications,” he said, adding that the ministry has also improved their system where exploration rights are granted only to applicants that have demonstrated their ability to carry out exploration.
Meanwhile, Alweendo called on the collaboration between mining companies, governments, and communities to bring about meaningful and sustainable change as mining should leave a place better than it was and should contribute to the prosperity of all Namibians.
