Namibia is stepping up its push for U.S. investment in critical minerals, seeking to use growing competition among major powers to build domestic processing capacity rather than remain a supplier of unprocessed raw materials.
During the September 21 roundtable, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told U.S. business and government representatives in New York that Namibia is open to partnerships spanning exploration, mining, refining, logistics and manufacturing.
“Our objective is clear,” the president said, adding that “we will not remain exporters of raw natural resources and importers of value-added products.” She said U.S. companies could help establish “secure, transparent and resilient” supply chains, from extraction through processing and manufacturing.
Namibia’s target minerals include uranium, lithium, rare earth elements, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese, tantalum and tin. The government’s central message is that foreign capital should be accompanied by technology transfer, skills development and downstream industrial activity.
The appeal comes as China consolidates an already substantial position in Namibia’s uranium industry. Chinese state-linked companies hold interests in each of the country’s three operating uranium mines: China National Uranium Corporation owns 68.62% of Rössing Uranium, while CNNC Overseas holds a 25% non-operating stake in Langer Heinrich. Husab, Namibia’s largest uranium mine, is also controlled by Chinese interests.
China’s role expanded further last week through the Etango project in the Erongo region. Australia’s Bannerman Energy announced that CNNC Overseas completed a US$320.4 million investment and joint-venture transaction on September 24. The deal gives the Chinese group a 45% shareholding in the project’s joint-venture company, translating into a 42.75% economic interest in Etango after accounting for a 5% interest held by Namibia’s One Economy Foundation.
Bannerman’s filing to the Australian Securities Exchange says CNNC Overseas will also be entitled to purchase 60% of the mine’s life-of-mine uranium production at market-based prices.
Bannerman retains a 52.25% economic interest and control over marketing of the remaining 40% of output. The company expects to take a final investment decision and begin full-scale construction in the fourth quarter of 2026. Its feasibility study projects average annual production of about 3.5 million pounds of uranium oxide, or roughly 1,588 tons, once the mine is operational.
For Namibia, the Etango financing illustrates both the opportunity and difficulty of its strategy. Chinese capital can speed up mine development and secure long-term export demand, but it also reinforces China’s influence over a sector central to Namibia’s industrial ambitions.
In June 2023, the Namibian government prohibited exports of unprocessed crushed lithium ore, cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare-earth minerals, allowing limited exceptions subject to ministerial approval. The measure was intended to ensure that more of the value generated by rising demand for energy-transition materials is retained locally. The policy formed part of Namibia’s wider effort to benefit from global demand for battery and renewable-energy inputs.
