Project developer Namibian Marine Phosphate’s (NMP’s) job registration drive has received an “overwhelming response”, with more than 4 000 registrations recorded within the first two weeks. NMP has decided to embark on a job registration drive while it awaits a court ruling to declare the validity of its mining licence for the Sandpiper marine phosphate project in Walvis Bay off the Namibian coast. NMP’s CEO Chris Jordinson told the media that the sheer number of registrations was likely owing to Namibia’s high unemployment rate, which is above 30%. The next steps of the registration drive will involve a series of information workshops to be implemented and hosted from March 2021. The workshops are intended to provide registrants with details about the project’s technical, environmental and development aspects, along with the related job opportunities. The registration process, which ends on 30 November, will potentially see 600 applicants employed at the project.
NMP owns the Sandpiper marine phosphate project, approximately 60km off the coast of Namibia, which covers a total area of approximately 7000 km2 in the regional phosphate enriched province to the south of Walvis Bay in water depths of 180–300m. NMP is placed in a strategic position to also develop a new phosphate province in Namibia and controls a substantial part of the most prospective areas. The area specifically includes all of the central enriched core area, where published regional mapping shows phosphate concentration of more than 20% by weight. These deposits were delineated during regional scientific studies in the 1970s but have remained undeveloped. The deposits occur as unconsolidated sea floor sediments, which now lie within the reach and capability of currently available dredging technology. The NMP JV is focused on an accelerated programme for development of the project.
Development efforts to date have included extensive resource delineation, investigations and discussions with several reputable contractors and organisations in the key technical areas of marine mining/dredging technology, beneficiation and potential off take candidates, as well as with local, regional and national government departments and officials, which resulted in the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study at the end of March 2012. Mining is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product in Namibia, with one job in the mining industry creating up to seven other jobs along the value chain. NMP hopes to have supported 5 000 jobs during the Sandpiper project’s construction and operational period. NMP is 85%-owned by Omani-registered entity Mawarid Mining and Havana Investments, a Namibian registered entity. The project has reserves of 132-million tons, grading 20.41% phosphorus pentoxide and mineral resources of 1.69-billion tons, grading 18.94% phosphorous pentoxide.
