This conclusion was reached at a recent meeting between ministry employees and senior police officers.
Two weeks prior, mining commissioner Isabella Chirchir had asked the police to halt Xinfeng’s trucks from moving raw lithium ore from the Kohero Mine in Omaruru to any part of Namibia or outside. This led to the decision.
Bryan Eiseb, the executive director of mines and energy, authorized the transfer of 6,000 tonnes of raw lithium ore from Namibia to Joseph Shikongo, the police inspector general, in a letter dated November 1.
Therefore, we authorize the shipment of 6,000 tonnes of crushed lithium ore from Kohero Mine to the port at Walvis Bay. The terms and validity of the export permit still apply to this authorization, according to Eiseb.
He stated that senior officials from the ministry and the police had participated in a number of talks and investigations that led to the conclusion.
He said the government was informed that Xinfeng was involved in the shipment of crushed lithium ore from Kohero Mine, which was permitted by mining license ML243, to Walvis Bay.
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Even though Xinfeng had a mining license for these minerals, it lacked the required export and transportation permits.
Following receipt of this information, the mining commissioner requested on behalf of Xinfeng to Nampol at Omaruru to halt all trucks carrying lithium ore from Kohero Mine to Walvis Bay port. According to Eiseb, this was done to avoid any possible violations of the Minerals Act.
He added that he told the mining commissioner that Xinfeng was not moving lithium ore from Kohero Mine during further conversations with attorneys for Long Fire Investments.
According to Eiseb, the attorneys made it clear that the lithium ore in question was extracted from Long Fire’s mining claims in the Uis region, which are under the ownership of a Namibian company.
Long Fire and Xinfeng Investment CC have an arrangement for the transportation of lithium ore mined under their claims to Kohero Mine for crushing and eventual shipment from the port in Walvis Bay.
Eiseb stated that an agreement to use the crusher at Kohero Mine resulted from information revealing that the lithium ore crusher at Long Fire’s mining claims had not been in use since December 2022.
As a consequence, Long Fire and Xinfeng decided to use the Kohero Mine’s lithium ore crusher. It was communicated to Long Fire that in order to move lithium ore from the mining claims to Kohero Mine; removal permission is needed. Now, the business has requested such a permit,” he stated.
After these talks, a group of mining inspectors was sent to Kohero Mine to confirm the details and measure the amounts of lithium ore that were stacked there, according to Eiseb.
According to him, the inspection verified the existence of some 8,000 tonnes of lithium ore that had been moved from the Long Fire mining claims, crushed at Kohero Mine, and was now ready to be transferred to the port in Walvis Bay.
Long Fire has already delivered 19 442 tonnes more of crushed lithium ore to the port.
Long Fire notified the mining commissioner that a vessel capable of exporting 26,000 tonnes of lithium ore had been ordered. He stated that the government is taking Long Fire’s lack of transit permission into consideration.
As a result, the ministry approved the export of 30,000 tonnes of lithium ore, with a deadline of December 15.
Transporting lithium ore is permitted as long as the export permit’s terms are valid.
However, transporting lithium ore is only permitted as long as the export permit’s terms are met and it remains valid.
President Hage Geingob announced that Namibia would no longer permit the export of raw minerals during the Namibia-EU Business Summit, which led to the decision to export unprocessed lithium ore.
According to him, the prohibition intends to increase local capacity for processing, refining, recovery, and recycling as well as the extractive industry’s sustainability.
That said, the Minerals Act has to be amended in light of this announcement.
Natangue Ithete, a backbencher for Swapo, stated last week that Geingob’s remarks would remain just that—statements—unless they were turned into policies.
Tobie Gerber, the interim commander of the Erongo police, affirmed that the police are no longer keeping an eye on trucks coming from Kohero Mine.
Ephraim Nekongo, the secretary of the Swapo Party Youth League, has stated that the issue is currently under the purview of the parliamentary standing committee on natural resources.
Many, including opposition parties, embraced the notion, but they are still dubious about its practicality.
The issue, according to former lawmaker Anton von Wietersheim, is implementation without hindrance, including contract violations, job losses, and revenue losses for the government and enterprises.
He noted that in order to implement the ban, the nation needs competent labour, assured investors, and political will.
According to Mike Kavekotora, president of Rally for Democracy and Progress, the declaration had to have been made with policies in place to support it and provide an appropriate plan for execution.
