Traditional leaders representing communities in Aminuis of the Omaheke Region said they will stop at nothing to ensure that the uranium mining project planned for their area gets off the ground.
This is a departure from the initial opposition to a Russian entity that has been granted a uranium exploration licence to prospect for uranium in the vicinity of Leonardville and the communal areas of the Aminuis constituency.
The drilling activities by Uranium One are on hold after the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform withdrew the drilling permits after community members opposed the project, citing the danger of contaminating the underground water.
They expressed concern that their only source of water in the area, the Stampriet aquifer, may be contaminated as a result of the proposed mining technique.
The company has been drilling boreholes to take samples for laboratory tests.
Uranium One has reassured the community that it is going to use the in-situ recovery (ISR) method to extract uranium underground.
On Thursday, representatives of eight traditional authorities from Aminuis called on the government to take an interest in the Aminuis uranium mining project and ensure that it gets off the ground.
This came after their representatives visited the Dalur mining operation in eastern Russia to familiarise themselves with the ISR mining method.
Speaking of the visit to Russia, Senior Councillor for the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, Gustav Kasuto, said the delegation went to observe the mining activities and report back to their respective communities on the way forward. He said the community leaders approached Uranium One to facilitate the visit to Russia.
Kasuto described the visit as an eye-opener to the traditional leaders and said that they are in support of Uranium One using the ISR mining method.
“There is no hesitation that the proposed method to extract uranium can be classified as safe and sustainable. If an advanced, developed country like Russia can prove that the method is sustainable and profitable, the delegation can only support Uranium One in its endeavour to pursue its efforts to start its operations.
“And Aminuis cannot be the only exception to the rule and deny its people future benefits that can be derived from this opportunity,” Kasuto said while reading the joint statement.
Headspring Investment, a subsidiary of Uranium One, has eight EPLs to prospect for uranium deposits in the vicinity of Leonardville and the communal areas of the Aminuis constituency.
Kasuto, who is the deputy chairperson of the Aminuis Traditional Authorities Committee, stressed that the government has been quiet on the Aminuis uranium project.
“We are appealing to the government to take a keen interest in this issue because the government, except for the withdrawal of the licence, has been very quiet. We want them to come out and take a stance. What does the ministry of mines think, and what does the ministry of agriculture think? We want them to show a keen interest and guide us on the way forward,” he said.
Chief Andreas Kaiser of the Bakagadhi Ba Namibia said the uranium project brings economic opportunities to Aminuis and the Omaheke Region as a whole.
“For many years, we just believed that farming was the only economic activity in the Omaheke region. Fortunately, now we are sitting on top of minerals and really, these minerals can be put to good use,” said Kaiser, who chairs the committee.
The traditional leaders said they are now going to report back to their respective communities and are expected to send their report to Parliament.
With regard to the way forward, Uranium One’s director of operations and mining engineer, Aldo Hengari, told Nampa that the company plans to get everybody on board, including the government.
“The way forward is for us to find alignment with all the affected parties, together with the government, so that we get the right documents in place that were taken from us and then we start with exploration, and simultaneously, with test mining,” Hengari said.
The company has an environmental clearance certificate and is now trying to acquire a clearance certificate for the test mining, he said.
The company has already covered 50 per cent of exploration, which indicates the existence of around 75 000 tonnes of uranium that can be mined for 25 years.
“It is not like we are trying to force this process. We want to use all the technical data that we are collecting to guide us on the way forward. But should we foresee that it is not going to be safe, of course we will not proceed with the project,” Hengari said.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency