Namdeb looks to the future

THE recently concluded inaugural mining expo provided NamDeb an opportunity to tell the mining sector and the public that the giant of Namibian mining is ‘very much alive’.

The company went through a difficult 2009 as a result of the global recession, and subsequent drop in demand for luxury goods worldwide, Namdeb registered a net loss of N$414 million last year.The Namibian spoke to a rather upbeat Mitford Mundell, NamDeb General Manager, at the expo.Not only, he said, is Namdeb in good shape and spirit he is adamant Namdeb will be in operation and contribute to the Namibian economy for quite a while. Mundell said that Namdeb, aided by its recent scaling down efforts and restructuring, can again cost effectively mine on land. Mundell said, ‘what was believed to be dead in 2008 is now alive.’ He said that Namdeb’s ‘land business’ broke even last year. He said the company cut out more than N$1 billion of cost on their land business even though the company paid their staff in full during the production holiday at the beginning of 2009. Namdeb is now looking to explore, the so far untapped shallow waters, with state of the art equipment. The rugged waters of the shoreline prevented the exploration in this area to date. Namdeb is currently mining on land and in the ocean. The company is also looking to Sendelingsdrift, north-east of Oranjemund on the Orange river, for its future recovery. Namdeb believes that there is still enough ore to keep the company going beyond 2050. Mundell said Namdeb ‘will mine if it is cost effective.’According to Mundell the company does not fear a double dip or any severe fluctuations in the global economy and that their continues improvement department has done good work to make sure the company survives any setbacks in the global markets. Asked about the impact of the uranium mines on Namdeb’s staff retention Mundell said that competition is good and that Namdeb still has exciting opportunities for vibrant young professionals. The company employs more than 1 500 people. ‘We have changed the image of Namdeb to a company that will care for you (the employee) if you care for the company,’ said Mundell.Namdeb’s Managing Director Zaamwani-Kamwi recently said in a media statement that consumer demand for diamond jewellery is beginning to recover, driven in part by the strength of the developing markets of China and India.Namdeb paid taxes and royalty of N$337 million to Government in 2009.