Namibia's Etango uranium project to boost output, jobs: minister

WINDHOEK, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Etango uranium project is expected to raise the country's uranium production capacity and create jobs and business opportunities for local people, Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy Modestus Amutse said Friday.

Speaking at the official launch and progress update of the project in the western Erongo Region, Amutse said the government expected mining investment to drive sustainable economic growth by expanding local employment, skills development and business participation.

The minister said 629 people are working at the Etango site, 99 percent of them Namibians.

Amutse urged Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia, the project's developer, and its partners to give Namibian contractors and businesses more opportunities through local procurement and skills development.

He said local participation was an investment in the country's economic future.

The project is targeting commissioning and first yellowcake production in 2028, with planned output of about 3.5 million pounds of uranium oxide a year.

Amutse said Namibia, currently the world's third-largest uranium producer, could overtake Canada once Etango is operational.

Located about 30 km southeast of the coastal town of Swakopmund, Etango lies in the Erongo uranium belt, which is also home to the Rossing, Husab and Langer Heinrich mines.

The project is being developed by a joint venture between Australian-listed Bannerman Energy and CNNC Overseas Limited, a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

Under an agreement signed in February, CNNC Overseas took a 45 percent stake in the joint venture and committed about 320 million U.S. dollars to the project's construction, which will be carried out without debt.