After returning in late 2015 from my studies in the UK and obtaining an LLM in oil, gas, and mining, my father (who at the time had a business in Opuwo) sent me a picture of a mysterious blue stone loaded on a truck.
Upon visiting him in Opuwo, we were informed the stone was called Blue Sodalite. I instantly fell in love with it. That was the beginning of my mining journey, and I became obsessed with gemstones and minerals, sparked by blue sodalite.
I was introduced to other gemstones and minerals, such as dioptase, beryl, orange garnet, chrysocolla, etc., in the Kunene Region, and later to tourmaline, rose, quartz, demantoid, aquamarine, purpurite, jeremejevite, etc. in the Erongo Region.
That prompted a group of us to spearhead the setting up of the Kunene Small-Scale Mining Association in 2016, and it was not until 2016/17 that I became part of a team that built a small pilot copper project in Kunene from the ground up through the consolidation of mining claims.
No production occurred at the mine until 2020, and not much profit was made after that due to Covid and other factors associated with the timeframes involved in developing a mine.
I stuck around until mid-2023, seeing it as an extended internship opportunity to gain practical experience.
While most people considered it small-scale mining and a waste of time as opposed to opting for permanent employment, it was the best decision I have made. I gradually developed a broader understanding without a pedestal centred on the ego brought upon by titles such as academic qualifications.
Of course, there were numerous occasions where self-doubt and imposter syndrome crept in, along with the feeling of giving up and seeking permanent employment to have a guaranteed monthly income.
However, my intuitive compass was always set in the mining direction.
Although it was not a fixed coordinate with a defined roadmap, I knew the destination was somewhere beyond the horizon.
I sought mining wisdom from the indigenous OvaHerero and OvaHimba people, whom I warmly regard as the original rocksmiths due to their sharp eye for prospecting, as well as being around titans of the game who had navigated every corner of Kunene before I was even born.
I had the pleasure of witnessing a whole mining project being set up, from constructing road networks and infrastructure to mining copper ore and assembling the processing plant, including cold and hot commissioning.
After production, I experienced copper being processed from the ore stage to concentrate and partook in negotiating off-take agreements with international commodity trading and mining companies.
Using various co-efficiencies, I began understanding and using mining terminology related to physical minerals, commodity trading, and pricing. I later followed the value chain of copper from concentrate to blister and cathode when I visited countries such as Zambia.
I now have (on a surface level) an understanding of mining from the ground up, spanning the mining value chain from various mineral groups, including semi-precious stones, dimension stones, base and rear metals, precious metals, and industrial minerals.
I have had exposure to dealing with marginalized communities, hostile farm owners, and extreme working environments with artisanal and small-scale miners, and I can assess (from a non-technical perspective) the potential viability of a project from its prevailing legal, environmental, social, geological, political, and economic factors.
The experience taught me resilience, adaptation, relentlessness, and patience in pursuing a vision that may or may not be apparent from the onset.
Having started small, understanding how more considerable operations work has become more accessible to grasp as exposure to a smaller set-up has provided the required grounded experience any intern yearns for.
Although copper has been my primary focus amongst other minerals, blue sodalite has always been close to my heart. I would occasionally visit the villages of Oroutumba and Otjimuhaka, which host this unique stone, to connect with it naturally.
Whenever I explore Kunene, I want to give people that “baby in a candy store” feeling I experience around blue sodalite or other gemstones/minerals.
I then realized there might be a niche for combining mining with tourism and the heritage of tribes such as the Himba.
That prompted me to think, “How would it feel to be mining blue sodalite yourself and experiencing it being turned into a necklace or ring?”.
That was what sparked the term mining tourism along those lines and became the birth of Didintle Tours and Rentals Namibia (Didi Tours), named after my late 5-year-old daughter Kandali “Didintle” Kambonde, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
Her name, Didintle in Setswana, means Beautiful Works of God and signifies a freedom-loving and free-spirited individual with a keen sense of adventure who always seeks the reasoning of things.
So, just like her, Didi Tours exemplifies showcasing the beauty of Namibian gemstones and minerals in their natural element through the unique fusion of mining tourism and resonates with those individuals with a drive and ambition to have experiences capable of accomplishing things out of the ordinary.
I decided to start with blue sodalite because of its unique geographical location, being found in only about six jurisdictions worldwide, and because I registered the clothing and apparel trademarks for sodalite and rose quartz with BIPA in 2021.
This means the brand would fit perfectly within the business model of the mining tourism company.
Although Didi Tours has decided to start with two combined packages, the Kunene Copper Experience and the Kunene Blue Sodalite Experience, other packages are being created, each with a unique leveraging angle.
The packages are, however, flexible and tailor-made to each client’s particular needs, as various other destinations and accommodation facilities along the routes can be incorporated.
The Blue Sodalite Experience takes the client north of Opuwo to where Blue Sodalite is located, offering clients the experience of seeing the mystic stone that turns royal blue once poured with water.
Clients will be provided protective gear to safely partake in chiselling and mining blue sodalite rocks as souvenirs and jewellery while taking photos and experiencing the local traditional brews and inhabitants.
A perineal river or stream flows between the blue sodalite. It makes for a fantastic experience to see its unspoiled blue element and a tree growing on top of blue sodalite with its roots deeply infused in the rock.
The surrounding mountains offer a captivating site called the Zebra Mountains due to their unique pattern depicting zebra stripes.
Clients will camp along the banks of the mighty Kunene River, separating Namibia and Angola, and further at the majestic Epupa Water Falls.
On our way back, they will have an unforgettable heritage experience at the Omungunda Camping Site, where there is a living museum, amazing views, caves, hiking trails, rock paintings, and baobab trees.
The Copper Experience allows clients to see copper in its natural element and be taken to a processing plant to see how it is processed along the mining value chain until the copper concentrate phase.
There is the visit to the Herero Living Museum near Otjokaware Village in the Kunene Region, followed by magnificent sundowners.
There is also an opportunity to see abandoned copper mines and other large-scale mining operations along the route.
Didi Tours has partnered with local mining claim holders and the communities and conservancies in which it operates to ensure that benefits and opportunities are created, especially considering the high unemployment and hunger rates in the Kunene Region.
This initiative aims to unlock the true potential of Kunene and other regions through mining, tourism, and heritage and to encourage the government to create a conducive environment for entrepreneurship and access to funding, especially within marginalized communities that are sitting on natural resource wealth.
African Blue Sodalite must be considered a Namibian national treasure due to its rarity and protection from exploitation. Although it is considered “non-economical” in Namibia, it is in high demand worldwide and is used in various industries.
Logic dictates that the exploitation of this logic stone is illogical, so further attention needs to be placed on better understanding its sustainable mining to untap its economic benefits, especially when considering it was included in a report compiled by the Ministry of Mines during June 2024 relating to illegal mining activities within the Kunene Region.
This, too, goes for other minerals and gemstones, as small-scale miners are being exploited by foreigners who pay peanuts for a commodity, including one as rare as African Blue Sodalite.
Using this mesmerizing stone as an example, we must redefine our trajectory as a country by building from the inside out and creating industries founded on opportunities misconstrued as lower-hanging fruits.
I urge young Namibians to leap in faith and be innovative by following their dreams despite their hardships. Do something you love so that when there is nothing monetary to feed you, let your passion and hunger for success fuel you.
If you find a wall with 99 doors, don’t be afraid to build the 100th door because it is comfortable and liberating once built. Independent yet responsibly challenging to maintain. Straining yet flexing maturity. Sacrificial yet nourishing.
