Nearly half of Namibia’s mining licences are inactive while hundreds of new mineral-rights applications remain unresolved because of staff shortages and outstanding environmental and land-consent documents.
Industries, mines and energy minister Modestus Amutse told the National Assembly on Thursday that 71 of the country’s 162 mining licences were not producing.
“There are 162 mining licences issued. The 91 are actively producing, but 71 are inactive,” Amutse said.
The inactive licences represent about 44% of all mining licences issued in Namibia.
Amutse was responding to Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) parliamentarian Ferdinand Hengombe, who asked how many Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) and mining-claim applications had been pending for more than 12 months.
Hengombe also asked about the ministry’s capacity constraints, the number of inactive mining and exploration licences and what was being done to prevent mineral rights from being held without development.
The minister did not provide a direct total for all applications pending for more than 12 months. He said, however, that the ministry had evaluated all new EPL applications in that category, with fewer than 10% placed on hold because applicants had not met outstanding requirements.
These included supporting documents, environmental clearance certificates and consent letters from traditional authorities or farm owners where applications affected communal or privately owned land.
Amutse said the ministry received 800 EPL applications and had evaluated 602. His response did not make clear the period during which the 800 applications were submitted.
He also referred to 3 251 mining-claim applications but did not specify the period covered, how many had been evaluated or how many remained outstanding.
A further 928 applications were received during an application window that opened on 1 September 2025, but only about half had been evaluated.
“As I’m speaking, only half of them have been evaluated. So, some applicants are still waiting for answers on those applications,” Amutse said.
The minister did not make clear whether the 928 submissions were all EPL applications, mining claims or a combination of mineral-rights applications.
He said the ministry previously accepted applications throughout the year, resulting in a persistent backlog because its technical team could not process submissions as quickly as they arrived.
The ministry introduced two annual application windows in 2024. Applications are now accepted from 1 April to 31 May and from 1 September to 31 October.
No new applications are accepted outside those periods, allowing officials to focus on evaluating existing submissions and making recommendations.
Amutse said Thursdays and Fridays were also reserved for officials to process applications and reduce the backlog.
Amutse identified human-resource constraints as one of the main causes of the delays.
“The ministry has limited staff members to process applications as well as to monitor the active licences to ensure compliance,” he said.
The same officials responsible for assessing new applications must monitor existing mineral-rights holders to determine whether they are complying with the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act and their approved exploration or mining programmes.
The Department of Mines has assigned employees from other sections to assist with assessments, while the ministry plans to expand the department and recruit additional staff.
Amutse said environmental clearance certificates were another source of delay. Although officials could evaluate applications without the certificates, the ministry could not make a final decision until applicants had obtained and submitted them.
Environmental clearance certificates are issued by environmental authorities, not the mines department itself.
Amutse said the ministry engaged holders of inactive licences to determine why their projects had not progressed.
He said some Namibian licence holders lacked the financial and technical capacity to develop mining projects and needed additional time to secure investors.
“That’s why sometimes we are lenient while at the same time trying to find amicable solutions,” he said.
However, Amutse said inactive licences were being refused renewal where holders had failed to undertake work and could not provide acceptable reasons for the lack of progress.
“If there is no performance whatsoever on the licence … the ministry would say no, unless if there are reasons that otherwise could convince the ministry not to reject renewal of that licence,” he said.
The minister did not disclose the identities of the 71 inactive licence holders, the minerals covered, their locations, when the licences were issued or how long they had remained inactive.
He also did not state how many renewal applications had been rejected because of non-performance.
The number of inactive licences, alongside the backlog of new applications, raises questions about whether dormant mineral rights are limiting access for applicants able to explore or develop the country’s resources.
A detailed list of the inactive licences and the ministry’s written response would be needed to establish how long the rights have remained idle and what enforcement action has been taken against their holders.
