Medvedev visits Namibia with eye on uranium

Uranium deposits in Namibia’s deserts, which could make the country a top producer of the nuclear fuel, are drawing growing foreign interest, seen in this week’s visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The first-ever visit by a Kremlin chief on Wednesday and Thursday is expected to include a delegation of hundreds, with an emphasis on reviving cooperation in uranium mining and energy production.
Russia has shown interest in Namibia since 2007. An exploration license was awarded to a joint venture led by Tekhsabexport, a Russian state firm that sells uranium. Moscow offered Namibia its controversial technology for floating nuclear plants.

“Nothing has happened” since then, said Robin Sherbourne, group economist for South Africa’s Nedbank in Windhoek. “We’ll see what happens this time.”

Such projects are spreading across this southern African country, which aims to benefit from renewed global interest in nuclear power with its large uranium deposits, which are currently mined at only two locations.

“Namibia could increase its production to 42 million pounds (a four-fold increase) within five years, which could make us Number 1,” Sherbourne said.

To achieve that, Namibia first must tackle two major obstacles.

The desert has no water needed to control the dust and radiation from the mines. Areva has built a desalination plant on the Atlantic coast, which could eventually meet the growing needs.

The country also lacks enough energy. Namibia already imports half of its electricity from South Africa, which is suffering an energy crisis itself.

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