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Husab Forges Ahead

Swakop Uranium is constructing what will become the second largest uranium mine in the world.

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www.swakopuranium.com

Swakop Uranium's Husab project is a

real headline grabber and with very

good reason: it has the potential to

transform a nation, producing 15 million

pounds of uranium oxide when fully

operational. But what does that mean to

Namibians you might ask? Well, besides

helping to make the country the second

largest uranium producer in the world (it is

currently fifth behind the likes of Niger,

Australia and Canada), Husab is set to

boost the southern African nation's exports

by 20 percent and boost GDP by five

percent per annum; that's in addition to

the direct and indirect job creation. It will

undeniably contribute to the country's

development objectives, both economically

Husab Forges Ahead

and socially.Now we have your attention,

let's tell you a bit more about the project.

For starters its 8km uranium mineralisation

has been confirmed as the highest-grade

granite-hosted uranium deposit in Namibia

and one of the world's most significant

discoveries in decades. Essential Business

Magazine understands that the mine has a

potential life of more than 20 years, with

uranium resources of at least 280,000

tonnes. The forecast ore grade at Zones 1

and 2 is 518 parts per million, while the

total ore resource is more than 242,000

tonnes.

This is a real beast and the speed at which

Husab is progressing is remarkable. The

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project is in the Namib Desert about 60km

from the coastal town of Swakopmund.

Swakop Uranium was established in 2006

after the area was targeted as an

exploration area and Husab is being

developed as a low-risk, conventional,

large-scale load-and- haul open pit mine,

feeding ore to a conventional agitated acid

leach process plant.

Established by Australian company Extract

Resources, the mine was acquired by

Taurus Minerals Limited of Hong Kong –

owned by China General Nuclear Power

Company Uranium Resources and the

China-Africa Development Fund – in 2012

following a successful takeover and

subsequent delisting of Extract Resources.

As per Namibian laws, Taurus Minerals has

a 90 percent stake while the Namibian

state-owned mining company Epangelo

holds 10 percent – acquiring that stake in

November 2012 in a deal valued at

N$1,882 billion.

Construction of the mine started that same

month, while mining operations went

underway last year in March, with ore

mining commencing in May, according to

quotes carried in several media outlets

attributed to Percy McCallum, Swakop

Uranium's spokesman. “We have been

clearing the overburden of sand and we will

start mining ore from May onwards. We

expect to have stockpiled a million tons of

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“ besides helping to make the country the second largest uranium producer in the world (it is currently fifth behind the likes of Niger, Australia and Canada), Husab is set to boost the southern African nation's exports by 20 percent and boost GDP by five percent per annum

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ore by December,” he said.

Swakop Uranium is, as we said, owned by

CGNPC and is China's biggest single

investment in Africa - CGNPC has invested

more than 2 billion U.S. dollars into the

Chinese ownership and the nuclear debate

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Husab Uranium mine, with its total long-

term investment estimated at around 5

billion U.S. dollars. But is Chinese

ownership bad? No, at least not in our

view; while many will question why

foreigners own the majority of mines like

this, the reality is that mining is extremely

capital intensive and without huge

investment they simply wouldn't happen

(think start-up costs, exploration costs

etc). It is quite easy to imagine a scenario

where ore deposits won't be mined

because there is limited capital or

expertise to invest in mining – just think

about that.

Of course, uranium from mining is used

almost entirely as fuel for nuclear power

plants and an important aspect for Swakop

Uranium is to secure supply for the Chinese

nuclear industry. That's good news for

China and it is believed that through its

investment in Husab, CGNPC will be able to

supply sufficient uranium to feed their

reactors on an ongoing basis.

There is a global angle here too: the

environment. While the Fukushima disaster

has put many off nuclear, it is a key tool in

reducing greenhouse gases. Yes, there are

a lot of people that remain and likely will

always be anti-nuclear, but imagine if the

Chinese get to 5 percent nuclear mix, how

much would that do for the planet in terms

of CO2 emissions?

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It is certainly an interesting debate and we

look forward to seeing the positive impact

the project will continue to have on a large

and sparsely populated country and indeed

the wider continent and the world.

Visit www.swakopuranium.com.

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Physical Address

2nd Floor, Husab Tower

C/of Leutwein & Nathanael Maxuilili Street

Swakopmund,

Namibia.

Tel: +264 (0) 64 410 9000

+264 (0) 64 410 9001Fax:

info@swakopuranium.com.naEmail:

Contact our office in Namibia

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