Consolidated Copper pushes value addition

Consolidated Copper Corporation (CCC) country manager George Kamati says the agreements reached during President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's state visit to China will have little lasting value unless they result in processing plants, skilled employment and sustainable local industries.

Kamati said the visit had laid the groundwork for Namibia to derive greater value from its mineral resources by expanding domestic processing, developing downstream industries and creating employment beyond the lifespan of individual mines.

"President Nandi-Ndaitwah's visit to China has created a framework for Namibia to achieve more with its minerals and resources, processing more at home, building new industries around them, and creating jobs that last beyond the life of a mine," he said.

Drawing on CCC's own experience of developing mineral processing capacity in Namibia, Kamati said industrialisation depended on reliable infrastructure, investment and a skilled workforce.

"From our own experience of developing processing capacity in Namibia, we know what it takes: dependable power and water, long-term capital, and the engineers, electricians and plant operators who can turn a mineral deposit into a working industry," he said.

Kamati said the success of the agreements should ultimately be measured by what is built in Namibia rather than what was signed in Beijing.

"The real test of the visit is not what was signed in Beijing, but what gets built here, including the plants, technical careers and local businesses that will build our industrial base and fuel enduring economic growth," he said.

He welcomed China's commitment to supporting greater local processing and value addition, describing it as an important step towards ensuring Namibia's mineral wealth generates broader economic benefits.

"China's pledge to support more local processing and value addition marks an important step towards turning Namibia's natural wealth into jobs, skills and growth at home. Namibia already has what the world needs beneath its ground. The opportunity now is to build more of its own future above it," Kamati said.

CCC has announced plans to return the Tschudi, Berg Aukas, Otjihase and Matchless mines to production, a move the company says forms part of its broader strategy to expand Namibia's mining and mineral processing capacity.