Breakthrough study on Critical Raw Materials Value Chains in Namibia launched

The EU-funded AfricaMaVal project (AfricaMaVal.eu), implemented by the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) together with the Namibian company Odikwa Geoservices, launched the “Country Case Study Namibia” report, an assessment of the investment potentials in the Namibian mining sector on Tuesday, 9 April 2024 at the Auditorium of the Geological Survey of Namibia in Windhoek.

The report gives an overview of the geological setting and Extended Critical Raw Materials (ECRM) endowment in Namibia. It shows investment opportunities for extraction and local value addition into these value chains. It also presents insights into the regulations for financing, including taxation and royalties and give an overview about the macroeconomic context of Namibia. Besides these financial issues an assessment of the social, environmental and governance challenges of Namibia is given, which includes Mining practices vs. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. The report further touched on the Namibia’s robust legal framework, labour regulations, the taxation regime, trade barriers and an uncertainty about protected areas. Full report can be found here (https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:5990eb9d-921b-4563-ae6a-f9f5b10609f5 – Pages 459 – 532).

The workshop discussed expectations and challenges of investment opportunities in the critical and strategic commodities sector in Namibia, based on the findings of the presented study. The objective of the Namibia Case Study is aligned with the thrust of the EU-Namibia strategic partnership on Critical Raw Material (CRM) and Green Hydrogen Value Chains which was adopted in November 2022.

EU Ambassador to Namibia, H.E. Ana Beatriz Martins, emphasized that the AfricaMaval project is a crucial step, building on Namibia’s vision for green energy transition. “The EU remains committed to its partnership with Namibia on sustainable, clean, and inclusive economic growth. The promotion of local value generation and sustainable value chain integration between Namibia and the EU are at the core of this partnership,” She proudly said.

The AfricaMaVal project aims to foster partnerships between the EU and African countries, to support investments of the EU and the European industry in the Namibian mining sector (both industrial mining and small-scale mining), as well as in the associated infrastructure and value chains.