There are 24 mines in Namibia, according to the Chamber of Mines, and eight of these are in care and maintenance.
The 16 that were operational in 2024 paid a combined N$5.6 billion in taxes compared to N$6.861 billion in 2023.
About N$3 billion in corporate taxes, N$2.24 billion in royalties and slightly more than N$361 million in export levies.
This broke the trend set in 2023 when mining companies paid N$3.967 billion in corporate taxes, N$2.532 billion in royalties and N$362 million in export levies.
In 2022, the government received N$1.998 billion in corporate taxes, N$2.154 billion in royalties and N$245 million in export levies.
The mining sector’s contribution to GDP in 2024 was 18.9% compared to 2023’s 14.4% and 2022’s 11.9%.
The Chamber of Mines Namibia’s outgone chairperson, Zebra Kasete, attributed the sharp decline to lower diamond sales, which form a substantial portion of the sector’s fiscal contributions.
Kasete also says the downturn in diamond prices, coupled with reduced demand in key markets, led to weaker profitability and constrained sales volumes, thereby diminishing the revenue base from which taxes and royalties are derived.
He also says real value added from diamond mining fell by 3.7% in 2024, a reversal from the 10.9% growth recorded in 2023.
Weaker global prices
The whole mining sector in Namibia felt the hit of the weaker global market prices to record an 11.7% decline in gross fixed capital formation.
While in 2023, the gross fixed capital formation stood at N$5.908 billion, up from N$3.480 billion in 2022, the sector saw a decline of 11.7% to N$5.220 billion in 2024.
Kasete says the downturn may be attributed to the completion of significant infrastructure phases in key projects and delayed investment decisions in new developments.
Profits up
In the past three years, the mining sector has been posting profits, with the biggest jump recorded in 2023 when the figure rose to N$2.731 billion from N$391.2 million in 2022, ending at N$2.819 billion in 2024 – a growth of just 3.3%.
The turnover has also increased since 2022, when the sector posted N$37.961 billion profit, which climbed 36% to N$51.572 billion in 2023 and then dipped 1.4% to N$52.295 billion in 2024.
Kasete says the modest increases resulted from the strong performance of gold and uranium operations, boosted by record-high global prices and stable demand.
He also says the recovery in profitability was supported by increased operational efficiencies and cost discipline across several mining operations despite persistent ongoing pressure on diamond prices and a slowdown in sales volumes.
Gold remains gold
While the diamond sector got huge knocks from De Beers’ deliberate production cuts aimed at stabilising prices and preserving high-quality reserves, gold production surged.
While the diamond sector saw a 3.7% decline in real value added, down from 10.9% in 2023, gold production rose by 2.7%, driven by record production levels at the Navachab gold mine.
Uranium came second with a marginal growth of 1.8% compared to the 29.6% growth rate of 2023.
Kasete says water supply challenges and planned maintenance shutdowns led to uranium’s subdued performance at the Rӧssing and Swakop Uranium mines.
However, he says, additional output from the Langer Heinrich mine contributed to the modest growth in uranium production.
According to Kasete, despite strengthened global conditions, the other key minerals, such as lead and zinc concentrates, faced setbacks due to operational challenges, including lower ore grades.
Exploration expenditure boost
The biggest winner in 2024 was exploration, where a staggering 66.6% increase was recorded.
In 2022, exploration expenditure was N$964.9 million, which went down to N$891 million in 2023, but rose to N$1.485 billion in 2024.
Kasete says the 66.6% increase underscores renewed interest in mineral prospecting and early-stage project evaluations, particularly in uranium, critical minerals, copper and gold prospects.
Direct employment figures also surged in the past three years from 16.147 in 2022 to 18.189 (12.6%) in 2023 and 20.654 (13.6%) in 2024.
According to Kasete, the growth shows the mining sector’s expansion, albeit with retrenchments at some other companies.
Youth unemployment
Kasete raises concerns with the increasing number of vocational training centres.
He says the Chamber’s exco tasked the HR Committee to contextualise the potential scale of the problem and offer solutions.
“While some data was presented, it is evident that more comprehensive information is needed to understand the issue entirely,” he says.
He further says that as an immediate action item, a critical skills assessment was agreed upon to determine the industry’s critical skills requirements, strengthen existing strategies for skills development, and reduce youth unemployment in the mining sector.
Pay-as-you-earn
Although the government lost out on corporate taxes, export levies, and royalties, it gained from pay-as-you-earn, which was N$1.695 billion, up from N$1.493 billion in 2023.
Pay-as-you-earn taxes have been on a decline since 2022, when the workers in the mining sector contributed N$2.6 billion.
The 2024 wage bill was N$7.996 billion, compared to N$6.85 billion in 2023 and N$6.225 billion in 2022.
Apart from the increases above, the mining sector also spent N$24.154 billion on goods and services from local businesses.
In 2023, the sector spent N$21.022 billion, an increase of 77.5% from N$16.823 billion in 2022.
The N$24.154 billion accounts for the sector’s for approximately 46.2 % of the industry’s total revenue of N$52.295 billion.
Kasete says the mining industry stimulates national economic activity and strengthens small and medium enterprises, supports local employment creation, and contributes to long-term socio-economic development in Namibia by maintaining a high proportion of local procurement.
Environmental, social and governance
Although Kasete does not give figures for the amounts the sector spent on skills development in 2024, the Chamber’s 2023 annual report shows that N$277 million was spent on skills expenditure by the entire mining industry (includes VET Levy).
The same report also shows that the mining sector contributed N$211 million to corporate social responsibility.
Kasete says the Chamber is firmly committed to advancing environmental, social, and governance initiatives across the mining industry.
He says that the Chamber’s environmental, social, and governance committee has made significant progress by agreeing on core principles and beginning to draft comprehensive guidelines aligned with best practices in sustainable mining.
“Once finalised, these guidelines will be shared with the Council, marking a significant step forward in embedding robust ESG standards into the industry’s strategic framework,” Kasete says.
