Steven Klukowski

LÜDERITZ - The first ever export of manganese originating from South Africa’s Northern Cape Province was commissioned on Friday at the Lüderitz harbour by Works and Transport Minister John Mutorwa.

Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba, in a message delivered on his behalf by Mutorwa, said the project would change the economic fortunes of Lüderitz for the better. 

The venture is testimony to government’s economic ambitions of transforming Namibia into a logistic hub of choice for Southern Africa and the rest of the African continent, the minister said.

Addressing the issue on what significance the project holds for Namibia in general and its southern areas in particular, Mbumba explained that apart from creating 150 job opportunities through TransNamib it will bring about a capital injection of more than N$700 million per annum.

“Africa is equally called upon to genuinely and purposefully develop and enhance inter-dependence and establish a visible approach of trade amongst its countries,” said the VP.

Realising this, he reasoned, Namibia needs to finds ways and means to optimally utilise the unique characteristics in each country in bridging the element of distance.

Mbumba added that the global recession has forced the country to rethink its business methods since it will be required to devise new ways and strategies to reposition itself competitively. 

In addition, he reasoned that the countrywide decline in economic growth can be countered with new opportunities within the logistics industry, like the manganese project.

The VP also urged other regional and local mining houses to export their ore via the port of Lüderitz since Namibia has favourable logistic conditions. 

He strongly emphasised government’s role as one of creating “an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to flourish and to capitalise on opportunities, as well as to assist with all possible means to achieve our collective national development goals”.

Using the instrumentality of the event, Mbumba expressed his profound gratitude, appreciation and recognition to all those involved in unlocking the true power of positive synergy brought about by the various institutions involved to spearhead a project of this magnitude. In conclusion he gave the assurance that the country is in good hands and that government will continue in its journey towards recovery from the current economic headwinds.

Manganese is a hard grey metal and is an important component in steels and magnetic  alloys. Eighty percent of the world’s manganese ore deposits lie within the Northern Cape Province in South Africa. 
These deposits are graded between 34 and 38, making them some of the best ores globally. 

Information suggests that these mines [in South Africa] have a lifespan of more than 60 years. The current volume throughput is 30 000 tons per month.