Mines minister Tom Alweendo said the mining sector contributed more than N$3 billion to the fiscus in the 2022/23 financial year.
Alweendo also said that, from an export-led growth perspective, the sector accounts for about two-thirds of merchandise trade exports annually.
The minister also said the sector has emerged as the main driver of economic aggregate growth and an anchor for long-term growth prospects.
Alweendo told parliament on Monday when he motivated his ministry’s 2024/25 budget allocation, that Namibia had noted an increasing inflow of investment in exploration and mining activities.
He said the increase was in demand and prices for commodities such as uranium, gold and lithium.
“That is why,” he added, “we have noted that some mining licence holders, such as Osino Resources, Bannerman Mining Resources, and Reptile Uranium, are in preparatory phases for the construction phase.”
He said while Namibia has achieved several milestones, there is still some ground to cover.
“The budget we are asking this august House to approve will, therefore, be used to progress the work we have started,” he said.
Alweendo presented a detailed breakdown of the proposed budget allocation, with N$382 million to be distributed across six key programs: N$ 24.8 million for promoting investment in exploration, N$69.1 million for creating geological knowledge, N$ 168.6 million for ensuring energy supply security, N$ 23.4 million for protecting the diamond industry, N$20.5 million for maintaining petroleum supply security, and N$ 75.5 million for policy coordination and support services.
Promoting investment in exploration is intended to regulate the mining industry, promote mineral exploration, inspect and adjudicate rights, and over and overspend environmental issues.
Regarding geological knowledge creation, Alweendo said his ministry wants to deliver the requisite high-resolution baseline geoscience data, evidence-based research outputs, and geoscientific maps as a basis for resource exploration and discoveries.
He said the diamond sector needs sound regulatory oversight and inspection across the value chain.
