Daures Constituency communities up in arms

HundredsofresidentsofUisandDauresConstituencycommunities, farmers, and small miners are up in arms with illegalminingactivitiesinandaroundtheErongoregion.

The residents claim some of the mining companies only have licences for semi-precious stones yet are mining rare earth metals such as lithium with others, claiming that they are conducting mining operations without environmental clearance certificates (ECCs) or blasting tickets, posing a risk andsafetyissuetoboth residents and the environment.

They [the residents] accused the lithium miners of looting resourcesinUis,alleging that they are using falsified paperwork

The community demanded that a proper investigation be conducted, and the activities be stopped until issuesaroundthemines areclearedup.

They also claimed that it is difficult for locals to obtain mining rights andseniorjobpositions at mines, while some mines do not rehabilitate the environment after exploration when they do not recover resources.

The residents stressed how Chinese-owned miningcompaniesmistreat locals despite the millionsofdollarsthey are collecting in revenue.Itisestimatedthat there are about 2000 small-scale miners in the Erongo Region

The group petitioned the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Tsiseb conservancy, among others, to stop the mining with immediate effect. The company has been accused of not following the proper channels and procedures and contravening the Environmental Management Act 7 of 2007. The company allegedly did notconductanenvironmental impact assessment (EIA) and has ignored the community's needs for investmentsininfrastructure, sponsorshipsanddonations to farmers and smallminers,bursaries to local best-performing science students, and shares to the conservancy for environmental destruction and negative effectscausedbymining.

In a recent heated townhall meeting, residents demanded answers from Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo, who visited the Daures constituency to discuss issuesraisedaboutillegal mining activities Uis community activist Jimmy Areseb at the community meeting with the Minister of Mines and Environment, Tom Alweendo stated that a Chinese mining company,Xingfeng,onlyhas a pending exclusive exploration licence (EPL) application for claim 8843,whichisintheUis area, as well as an active mining licence on EPL 243 and a pending renewal EPL for 7228 in the Okombahe/ Omaruru area.

He said the company wrotealettertotheTraditional Authority to be granted consent on EPL 8397, which belongs to Orange River Investment. Orange River Investment also has a pending ECC application.

Areseb added that OrangeRiverInvestment was granted consent on two mining claims (70515 and 70516), whichheassertedbelong to Townland Investment, but are in EPL 7248 that belong to Mount Brandberg Mining. Long Fire Investment has 10 mining claims for semi-precious stones. “In addition, EPL 8397 that belongs to Orange River exploration and mining hasapendingECC,while theEPLinwhichthese10 claimsoverlapbelongsto HopsonLithiumMining. The latter is also still in the application process and does not have any mining plan and blasting tickets. Yet, “the company goes along with its operations as if everything is normal,” Areseb stated.

Therefore, these irregularitiesneedtobeinvestigated to prove these operations are legal and argued that some mines arenotonlyillegalbutare alsonotassistinglocalsto benefit from the natural resources mined there.

The minister of mines and energy said after the discussions that the concernsofUisresidentsare genuine, and that the ministry will launch an investigation into the allegationsmade.Healso usedtheplatformtowarn Namibians to guard against selling their mining claims without doing due diligence but to use themtogeneratemoney

Alweendo added the ministry will start to strengthen community engagement consultationsbeforeexploration licenses are granted to prospective individuals or companies. He also requested to see documents such as export permits, including the quantityofmineralstobe exported, as well as consent from conservancy and traditional authorities.

Alweendo said, “we are heretogetabetterunderstandingoftheproblem.I believe that we can only resolve it if we fully understandtheissuesand will not protect anyone who is not following the law.” The minister said, “if there is proof of any illegal activity and the finding states so, we will takethenecessarysteps.”

He agreed that mining companies,justlikecompanies in other sectors of the economy, must be goodcorporatecitizens.

Alweendo noted, “this means companies must immerse themselves in thecommunitiestheyare operating in, paying particular emphasis on principles related to the environment,societyand governance This can only happen when companies have effective communication strategies how to engage communities." He emphasised that the law prescribes that minerals licence holders must engage and obtain permissionfromthelandowners beforeanyprospectingor mining activities take place. They mine semiprecious stones at Omatjete, Uis, Okombahe, Omaruru, Tsubusis, Otjimbingwe, Usakos andWalvisBay

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