https://southerntimesafrica.com/
Windhoek – Namibia is positioning itself to become the mining hub of the continent on the back of improving commodity markets, an increase in the number of projects and discovery of new minerals.
Interest in the sector is at an all-time high, as several new players have entered the scene targeting a larger array of minerals. According to the Chamber of Mines of Namibia (CMN), this is expected to widen opportunities for investment and job creation in the Southern African country of some 2.5 million people.
In 2017, Namibia Rare Earths acquired a host of portfolio high-tech commodities, which include heavy rare earths, cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel, niobium, tantalum and zinc.
These projects vary from Greenfield projects to projects in the licence application stage. Among these are the Lofdal Rare Earths deposit, which contains one of the few meaningful and known resources of heavy rare earths worldwide.
“Prices of heavy rare earths are expected to increase significantly in the short-term. However, development of this project is pending mining licence approval,” said CMN president Johan Coetzee, while recently launching the Mining Industry Review for 2017.
Namibia is also edging closer to producing cobalt after the discovery of large-scale deposits of cobalt in north-western Kunene region.
For the rest of this article: https://southerntimesafrica.com/site/news/prospects-of-nams-mining-sector-glows