Following restriction on lithium ore, Namibia wants to grow resource potential
By Freeman Ya Ngulu.
Despite claims that Namibia’s approach will discourage international investment, the country is moving forward with plans to extract greater value from the metals and other resources it generates.
Namibia’s policy of adding value was backed by Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo, who said that a more robust industrial base will increase the country’s appeal to investors while generating jobs. The minister enacted a prohibition on the export of unprocessed lithium and other vital minerals last week.
Alweendo said in an interview “Without some of these minerals being processed on our continent, in our countries, there is no way we are going to industrialize. “We must make better use of our resources.”
Resource nationalism has become a top priority for developing nations insisting that some of the wealth generated through extraction must be repatriated by bringing some of the processing capacity to the jurisdictions where the mining is done.
Lithium, a battery metal essential to the electric vehicle revolution, as well as rare earth minerals like dysprosium and terbium, which are utilized in magnets and wind turbines, are also abundant in Namibia. According to Namibian wealth manager Simonis Storm Securities, the country’s lithium business may be valued close to $1 billion annually. Starting in 2025, it is expected that output will begin to rise.
Namibia’s action comes after neighbouring Zimbabwe decided only to allow the export of concentrates and restrict the export of raw lithium ore in December.
Zimbabwe is considering charging concentrate exports to encourage domestic production of lithium suitable for batteries.
After other countries reaped the biggest benefits from its resources, the minister stressed that Africa had to take aggressive steps to realize its full economic potential. Alweendo said Namibia will be accommodating and allow smaller volumes of the essential minerals to be shipped without value addition while concentrating on its objective of processing ore domestically.
As the race for crucial green metals heats up, countries from the US to China are scrambling to secure lithium supplies.
The minister was quoted as saying that Namibia is considering taking minority stakes in mining and petroleum production companies but the move would affect future projects rather than existing contracts.
