Chinese state-owned nuclear giant China National Nuclear Corporation has secured approval to enter Namibia’s Etango Uranium Project through a joint venture with Bannerman Energy, strengthening China’s already significant footprint in the country’s uranium sector.
The Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC), under case number 2026MAR0012MER, approved with conditions the establishment of a joint venture between CNNC Overseas Limited (CNOL) and Bannerman Energy (UK) Limited (BMN UK) aimed at developing and commercialising the Etango Uranium Project.
The transaction involves CNOL acquiring a minority shareholding and joint control of BMN UK, which holds a controlling interest in Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia, the owner of the Etango Uranium Project.
Etango, located near Swakopmund in Namibia’s Erongo Region, is regarded as one of the country’s largest undeveloped uranium projects and remains in the development phase.
The acquiring company, CNNC Overseas Limited, is incorporated in Hong Kong and forms part of China’s state-controlled nuclear industry structure.
CNOL is controlled by China National Uranium Corporation Limited, which, in turn, falls under China National Nuclear Corporation, one of China’s largest state-owned nuclear enterprises, wholly owned by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the Chinese government.
In Namibia, the CNNC group already controls several strategic uranium-related assets, including Zhonghe Resources Namibia Development, China Nuclear Engineering Corporation Namibia and CNUC Namibia Mining Limited. This public company controls Rössing Uranium.
Globally, the group’s activities span nuclear power generation, nuclear fuel production, uranium exploration and mining, nuclear technology applications and nuclear power construction.
The target company, Bannerman Energy UK, controls both Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia and Bannerman Investments Namibia.
Through these entities, the Bannerman group also has an interest in Cooperative Bulk Handling Terminal, a planned bulk acid-handling facility at Walvis Bay that is still under development.
NaCC classified the transaction as a horizontal merger and defined the relevant market as the global mining, production and sale of uranium.
The commission found that the deal was unlikely to lessen competition or strengthen market dominance substantially.
However, the regulator said the transaction raised important public-interest considerations due to its potential impact on investment, job creation, skills transfer, and future uranium production in Namibia.
As a result, the merger was approved subject to conditions designed to ensure that the project delivers tangible benefits to Namibians.
These include commitments linked to workforce localisation, skills development, and increased participation by local suppliers, small and medium enterprises, and historically disadvantaged persons within the Etango project value chain.
The approval comes at a time when Namibia’s uranium sector is experiencing renewed international interest amid rising global demand for nuclear fuel, with countries increasingly turning to nuclear energy as part of long-term energy security and decarbonisation strategies.
Etango has long been viewed as one of the country’s most strategically important future uranium mines, with Bannerman Energy previously advancing financing, engineering, and development work to bring the project into production
