Under probe, Chinese-owned Xinfeng Investments has been authorised to export 16,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate from its Long Fire site near Uis.
A letter, dated June 13, 2025, and signed by mines minister Natangwe Ithete, was seen by The Extractor Magazine.
It confirms the company’s export approval and partial resumption of operations, albeit under strict conditions.
In the letter addressed to Police Inspector General Joseph Shikongo, the minister says that restarting activities at the Long Fire site will not interfere with the ongoing investigation.
The letter further notes that the material approved for export had already been processed in 2023 and 2024.
“We take note of your admission that you transgressed your exploration rights… however, the Long Fire site was never under dispute or legal investigation,” Ithete wrote.
The letter also directs that all material suspected of being mined illegally remains fenced off and unaltered until the conclusion of the probe.
Xinfeng’s operations were halted in late 2024 after it was found mining on EPL 8397, a licence strictly reserved for exploration.
Mining Commissioner Isabella Chirchir instructed the company to cease all activity following an unannounced visit, during which she found Xinfeng without the necessary permits.
At the time, over 180 workers were affected by the closure, with operations described by insiders as having continued since 2023—despite the official stop-work instruction.
The latest export approval applies only to material produced at the company’s Long Fire site, which the ministry says was not part of the disputed EPL.
The ministry’s letter outlines several compliance conditions for Xinfeng’s return to activity, including:
- Employing Namibians in managerial roles
- Improving housing and working conditions for all employees
- Compensating families affected by damaged ancestral gravesites
- Implementing a community social investment programme
- Fencing off and preserving all materials mined under investigation
The Extractor has also seen correspondence in which the ministry confirms that already-processed concentrate from previous years is to be exported while insisting that this “will not compromise the integrity of the investigation.”
