MARIENTAL – Government indicated it is reluctant to make a decision on uranium mining in the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System (STAS) because of gaps in the scientific data available.
The STAS covers an enormous arid region of about 87 000 square kilometres, stretching from central Namibia into western Botswana and South Africa’s northern Cape Province.
On Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) conducted a high-level discussion on issues pertaining to the aquifer. The meeting was held on the outskirts of Mariental in the Hardap region.
Clarifying his stance, minister Calle Schleittwein stressed that Namibia is a dry country. Thus, it is essential to agree on methods of exploration and mining that do not endanger the quality or quantity of groundwater resources.
“Pollution risks can be extremely challenging to manage, and may lead to disastrous environmental consequences that require costly remediation efforts later, potentially destroying the economic basis of the entire basin. As a ministry, we must take precautionary measures until we can determine the extent of the risk,” said the minister.
He added that in-situ recovery (ISR) mining, despite its surface-reducing environmental impact, often overlooks the potential to pollute underground water.
Proper planning, operation, monitoring and control are crucial to minimise these risks and prevent project failures, Schleittwein noted. ISR mines use fluid to recover valuable minerals from the ground without digging and moving earth.
‘We can live without uranium’
The minister closed off with a comment that caught the meeting participants’ attention.
“We cannot survive without water and food, but we can live without coal or uranium. Therefore, we believe it is our duty, as government and responsible citizens, to be cautious about all activities that could negatively impact our scarce, life-giving resource water,” he said.
Opening the meeting, the ministry’s executive director, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata said there has been significant interest in uranium exploration in the area in question. To date, exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs) and environmental clearance certificates for base and rare metals as well as nuclear fuel minerals have been granted in the Stampriet Artesian Basin (SAB) on the Namibian side. Since 2012, approximately 600 exploration boreholes have been drilled under these EPLs. “The extensive drilling of exploration boreholes and the proposed in-situ leach mining process raise significant concerns from both the government and the public. There is a potential risk that leakage from the mining area could lead to groundwater contamination, jeopardising the health of people and animals,” said Nghituwamata.
Her remarks were delivered during the daylong meeting by Elijah Ngurare, director for water supply in the ministry. Meanwhile, Unesco has been tasked by the ministry to provide expert advice on the environmental impact assessment for the Wings Project, which proposes to pilot the contentious in-situ leach extraction method. Leading the charge for the Omaheke Uranium project is Headspring Investments, the Namibian subsidiary of Russian company Uranium One, which, in turn, is part of the Russian State-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom. Headspring Investments’ exploration activities in the area have now been halted for about two years. Much of the controversy surrounding the project is the contentious extraction method, also known as in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining. ISR is an extraction process to recover minerals, such as copper and uranium, through boreholes drilled into a deposit.Director of Headspring Investments Kirill Egorov-Kirillov commented: “We respect his position – but for us, it means that the investors in uranium mining may as well take their investment and leave Namibia. That obviously will then deny the Namibian population the opportunity to share in the prosperity that the country’s resources can offer for the people”.
Recommendations
Meanwhile, Unesco found that the EIA states that no liquid residues will be created during the project.
However, insufficient information is provided about the surface processing facilities used during the proposed four-year trial to determine if this will be the case. Unesco also determined that natural attenuation has been proposed as the only remediation technique, although the effectiveness of this approach cannot be assessed at this stage due to limitations in the reporting model. Unesco, therefore, recommends that other remediation techniques be considered.
The UN agency thus proposed for additional data and information to address deficiencies identified during the review. Unesco has also called for a robust and detailed management and monitoring plan clearly linked to key risks and modelling outcomes as well as a clear discussion of model capabilities and limitations
in light of the available inputs and the model objectives.
Mining stance
Despite pushback, Uranium One remained steadfast that the proposed ISR mining method is more economically viable and environmentally-friendly when compared to conventional mining methods.
The company emphasised it has already invested about N$850 million in Omaheke prospecting. Moreover, Uranium One contends it only managed to explore 50% of its licence area before the halt in 2021. From that 50%, the company anticipates a life of mine of at least 25 years. The proposed Omaheke uranium project also projects annual revenue of N$6.6 billion, with employment prospects estimated at about 800 direct employees if or when mining eventually commences. -mndjavera@nepc.com.na