Challenges of small cooperative miners

Adolf KaureSmall cooperative miners are common in the Erongo Region, especially near the Erongo, Spitzkoppe and Brandberg Mountains as they attempt to make a subsistence living from selling crystals found in that area.According to Mubita Mubita, the chief geoscientist at the Erongo regional office situated in Swakopmund, more awareness is needed to teach the miners on the value of the minerals, crystals and gems which they discover. “When they do the selling part, they have to do it with the Karibib Gemstone Centre, if they want to do it officially. Otherwise, they can also do it informally by selling it on the side of the road, which is not too ideal.“The small cooperative miners are always too desperate to get some money out of the minerals that they sell them for a very low price. That happens quite a lot because they are not too knowledgeable.“A crystal can really get a good value, even up to N$400 000 and the miners and it can take up to two years to discover a good gem,” he says.Part of Mubita’s duties, includes giving services to these miners, who approach the ministry of mines and energy’s regional office in Swakopmund for assistance.“So small cooperative miners approach our ministry for packing the mining claims and in applying for them although the applications are done in Windhoek, but I do assist in that.“I assist the small cooperative miners with mining plans because before they start mining, they need a license from our office.“I also get called a lot in tracing these minerals because part of geophysics involves exploring these minerals because we use techniques that can determine the minerals that are underneath the earth’s surface. The last time I was in Karibib, I used a GPR (Ground-penetrating radar) to trace them,” says Mubita.He adds that the area where the mining takes place is large and includes towns like Usakos, Karibib, Uis as well as the village of Otjimbingwe. “It’s quite a big area, they do a lot of mining. The mineral that they mine include black tourmaline. That is the one that they are mostly after because that’s the one that generates the most income.” However, no value addition to the crystals as they are sold directly to the tourists. Karibib Gemstone Centre helps the small cooperative miners helps the miners to polish their crystals and to assist in them in selling them.There are also a handful of small cooperative miners who take the initiative to informally attempt to make jewellery out of their gems and end up selling them. adolf@erongo.com.na

Challenges of small cooperative miners

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Republikein 2026-07-30

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Challenges of small cooperative miners

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Republikein 2026-07-30

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