EU, Finland pour N$78m into lithium project

The European Union (EU) has committed N$78 million to enhancing lithium extraction at Namibia’s Andrada Uis Mine, aiming to strengthen local participation in global battery chains.

Speaking at the second Namibia-EU Business Forum in Windhoek yesterday, EU commissioner for environment, water resilience, and a competitive circular economy, Jessika Roswall said the investment would support lithium extraction at Andrada Uis Mine.

The funding is in partnership with the Geological Survey of Finland.

“Today, as a first step towards these goals, I am honoured to announce a new project with the Geological Survey of Finland and Andrada Uis Mine worth N$78 million,” Roswall said.

Finland is the only country in the EU with a complete battery supply chain from the mine to the refinery to the recycling plant.

Currently, Andrada (formerly AfriTin) is in the pilot and testing phase for lithium, with its primary mining activities being tin and tantalum.

The mine is not yet producing at full commercial scale, but it has confirmed high-grade lithium at its Lithium Ridge site. This is exactly what the new EU-Finnish funding is designed to accelerate.

According to Roswall, the investment targets “one of the most strategic bottlenecks in the global battery supply chain: unlocking lithium at commercially viable cost and grade”.

Roswall said the project reflects the EU’s broader strategy to strengthen cooperation with Namibia on green industrialisation and critical raw materials.

“By bringing Finnish geological excellence to Namibian soil, we are not just developing a mine, we are accompanying Namibia on its path to become a central actor in global battery value chains,” she said.

She added that the era of Africa exporting raw materials without benefiting from value addition must come to an end.

“For decades, Africa exported raw materials and imported finished goods. Thanks to projects like this one, that era is coming to an end,” Roswall said.

The announcement comes as the EU and Namibia formally agreed to extend their strategic partnership roadmap for another five years until 2030.

Roswall said the agreement would take cooperation in renewable hydrogen and critical raw material value chains “to the next level – backed by European investment, technology and market access”.

National Planning Commission director general Kaire Mbuende said the growing international demand for lithium and other transition minerals presents Namibia with a major opportunity for industrial transformation.

“The growing international demand for lithium, rare earth elements, graphite, cobalt, manganese, and other transition minerals presents Namibia with a significant opportunity for industrial transformation,” he said.

Mbuende added that Namibia already has a well-established mining sector that contributes significantly to the country’s gross domestic product, exports, and government revenue, although it has traditionally been dominated by diamonds and uranium.

“However, global technological transformations and clean energy transitions are creating new opportunities in critical minerals essential for batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, digital technology, and energy storage systems,” he said.

Mbuende said under the sixth National Development Plan, the government aims to reposition Namibia from being mainly a raw minerals exporter to a value-added industrial economy.

“Our strategic objective is therefore to promote the beneficiation, mineral processing, industrial linkages, downstream manufacturing, and integration into global energy value chains,” he said.

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