Chinese company Xinfeng Investments Limited is set to invest N$600 million in the construction of a state-of-the-art lithium processing plant, scheduled to commence operations in early 2024.
The facility, based on dense medium technology, aims to ensure processing efficiency while adhering to stringent sustainability practices, in compliance with the government’s calls for value addition of raw minerals in the country.
“We understand the position of the Namibian Government. And that is why we are so committed to getting our processing plant operational. Our investment will be in the range of N$600 million for the processing plant. The technology is expected to be top of the range, one of only three on the continent (Dense medium), which is good for the environment, as water use is limited, due to environmental demand,” Xinfeng Spokesperson Aqisha Jooste told The Brief.
Jooste said the lithium mining company has already secured an Environmental Clearance Certificate for the project.
“Xinfeng has been working tirelessly towards the construction of our processing plant in Uis. One of our highlights includes the awarding of our ECC by the Environmental Commissioner. We should be ready to open during late Q1 or early in Q2,” she said.
“Because we are committed to adding value to local resources, we have invested and started the work for our own processing plant. We remain absolutely focused on creating as many jobs locally as we can, and therefore, a processing plant is the next logical step for us. Recently ECC was awarded, and now we can really ramp up the work to get this facility operational towards the end of Quarter 1 in 2024.”
Jooste said the company’s export of raw lithium to China was for testing to ensure that the plant to be constructed meets local lithium specifications.
“All lithium exported to date has been used to test to decide on the specific processing plant. To ensure we construct the processing plant in a manner that is both efficient and fit-for-purpose, we commenced with a testing phase for lithium ore at our company in China. To date, what is evident is that there is a significant difference in the quality of lithium ore mined in Namibia, and this requires diligent testing. In turn, this will enable us to align the Namibian plant with the correct equipment, ensuring the stability and flexibility of production, while improving the quality of the concentrate and de-risking the enterprise,” she said.
Jooste revealed that the company had, since its inception in 2022, invested in excess of N$800 million in the country.
“If you were to trace this investment, you would find it across a multiplicity of sectors such as Machinery and Equipment, our fleet of trucks, which are owned directly by us. Then we have paid significant duties and taxes amounting to N$20 million, our salary bill, fuel from fuel distributors, which we buy on a monthly basis, then payments to Roads Authority and NaTIS, payments towards blasting, Namport for storage at the Walvis Bay Harbour, and much more. Of course, you will see more investment from our company in 2024,” she said.
On local shareholding in the company, she said, “we have a joint venture with Longfire Investments, which is a Namibian company, and this has proven to be an excellent business relationship yielding fruit for the community in terms of employment. It is worth noting that what we deem as exciting has been the skills we have been able to transfer to Namibian workers, including the management team of Longfire Investment.”
She said the company was looking at ensuring the full operation of its Kohero operations after its legal victory.
She said the mining company, which currently employs over 160 employees, has made improvements in the quality of its staff welfare.
“We have made significant strides regarding the quality of living standards and sanitation for our workers. Our workforce numbers range between 160 permanent staff and 300 if you include the temporary workers. We have also drilled three boreholes, fully permitted to ensure they have access to clean drinking water for hygiene purposes as well as for their household and domestic use,” she said.
Quizzed on the company’s investment in the local community that it operates, Jooste said: “We have also made significant investments to date in terms of social upliftment. One truly heart-warming opportunity was when we were able to donate N$50,000 to the historic Martin Luther High School, a school where so many Namibian luminaries went to school. Because education is a focal area for Xinfeng, we also contributed to the Havana Project School. We are currently working closely with the Omaruru Town Council on a contribution of N$100,000, which will procure food parcels for 600 elderly and vulnerable people.”
“We contributed N$30,000 to help the fire victims’ family in Omaruru, N$20,000 to Omaruru police station to update their toilet and power facilities, N$30,000 to Henties Bay and N$10,000 to improve their town facilities. Our contribution has been significant to date, and our focus has been on capacity building exemplified by the N$300,000 contribution we made towards the payment for the e-government mining portal.”-miningandenergy.com.na
