Uranium stewardship committee established

THE Namibian Chamber of Mines has decided to establish a Uranium Stewardship Committee to safeguard the interests of the uranium industry.

A media statement issued by the Chamber on Thursday said this was done with due regard to the rapidly growing uranium industry in the country in response to the world’s demand for uranium in the generation of clean energy. The establishment of the committee was done in line with the recently published World Nuclear Association’s stewardship principles, which advocate for collective responsibility and commitment by all players to the safe and responsible management of uranium, said the Chairperson of the Uranium Stewardship Committee, Michael Leech.Leech, who is the MD of Roessing Uranium, said the uranium exploration and mining industry in Namibia had a collective responsibility for leading practice in the stewardship of its product.He further observed that the committee and its members were fully aware of the need to support the principle of leading practice in the management of their product and were committed to minimising any departures from leading practice.”We are taking action to back up that awareness, to build confidence in our industry and to provide leadership to others,” he said.Taking this commitment forward, the Chamber of Mines has decided to put up an office at Swakopmund at the epicentre of the uranium boom to develop minimum standards for environmental health and environmental management for uranium mines and to assist with a Regional Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP).This is being done with participation of public and private stakeholders and also in conjunction with the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA), the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).The Standards and Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) will not only guide the members of the Chamber but will set goals that uranium exploration companies that are not yet members of the Chamber of Mines of Namibia may also want to follow.NampaThe establishment of the committee was done in line with the recently published World Nuclear Association’s stewardship principles, which advocate for collective responsibility and commitment by all players to the safe and responsible management of uranium, said the Chairperson of the Uranium Stewardship Committee, Michael Leech.Leech, who is the MD of Roessing Uranium, said the uranium exploration and mining industry in Namibia had a collective responsibility for leading practice in the stewardship of its product.He further observed that the committee and its members were fully aware of the need to support the principle of leading practice in the management of their product and were committed to minimising any departures from leading practice.”We are taking action to back up that awareness, to build confidence in our industry and to provide leadership to others,” he said.Taking this commitment forward, the Chamber of Mines has decided to put up an office at Swakopmund at the epicentre of the uranium boom to develop minimum standards for environmental health and environmental management for uranium mines and to assist with a Regional Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP).This is being done with participation of public and private stakeholders and also in conjunction with the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA), the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).The Standards and Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) will not only guide the members of the Chamber but will set goals that uranium exploration companies that are not yet members of the Chamber of Mines of Namibia may also want to follow.Nampa