Husab produces first uranium oxide

SWAKOP Uranium, the owner of the Husab Uranium mine in the Erongo region produced its first drum of uranium oxide in December.

The company said this week that because of its production size, Husab will be the largest uranium mine in the world.

The Husab mine has taken 10 years to develop. CEO Zheng Keping said Swakop Uranium is fortunate to have a guaranteed uptake of its 2017 production, which will all by agreement be sold to its majority shareholder China General Nuclear Power Company, the largest developer of nuclear power in the world.

“This arrangement provides further job security to our employees. Swakop Uranium therefore assists with the national agenda of the government through the Harambee Prosperity Plan to add value to the economic and social development of the country,” said Keping.

Zheng urged the workers to focus on producing sufficient ore from the mining site and keeping the plant running at high efficient levels as much as possible, during 2017.

Husab is expected to produce 226 tonnes of uranium oxide in 2017, rising to 4 535 tons in 2018, stockbroker Simonis Storm Securities said in a 2017 economic outlook report released last week.

The Bank of Namibia expects uranium production to expand by 62,9% in 2016 and by 89,5% in 2017. Husab is the third uranium mine in production after Rio Tinto’s Rössing Uranium and Paladin Energy’s Langer Heinrich.

When Husab reaches full production, uranium’s contribution to mining is expected to overtake diamonds contribution to export earnings.

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