Report on investment by Chinese enterprises in the Rosing uranium mine in Namibia
According to an investigation carried out by Carlo Koos, M.A., political scientist, on whether uranium operations cause armed conflict in Africa, it was suggested that – compared to the baseline conflict risk – uranium ventures increase the risk of intrastate conflict by 10 percent. However, we find ethnic exclusion to be a much better predictor of armed conflict than uranium. The microlevel analysis reveals that uranium‐spurred conflicts are spatio-temporally feasible in four countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Namibia, Niger and South Africa. We find strong evidence in the case of Niger, and partial evidence in the case of the DRC. Namibia and South Africa do not yield substantial evidence of uranium‐induced conflicts.
Advices:
However, due to the political stability in Namibia and a lesser extent of any regional conflict, it is safe to say that as far as Namibians benefit from the impact of Uranium exploitation, the probability of any conflict to arise will be very slow. CNNC should therefore feel confident in continuing its mining activities. Redistributing part of its yearly revenue through corporate social responsibility tools will go a long way to prove that Chinese investments are long-term and will be beneficial for both parties, CNNC and Namibia as a whole. This includes local support in the fields of education, health, poverty alleviation, innovation, environment, or enterprise development that would be well received by the community and country as a whole.
The president is both chief of state and head of government, and is directly elected for up to two five-year terms. In 2019, Hage Geingob of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) was reelected with 56.3 percent of the vote. While international observers deemed polls peaceful and credible, concerns were raised about the lack of verifiable paper trail, long waiting times, and delays in the counting and release of results.
Advices:
Namibia has through the years enjoyed peaceful political changes, with respecting presidents pushing the agenda of mining as a tool to boost the economic stamina of the country. This is therefore an advantage for Chinese investors as there will be continuity in partnership and collaboration in the different big projects the country is trying to implement with mining uranium, just being the start.
Terrorism Index in Namibia according to Trading Economics averaged 0.36 Points from 2002 until 2021, reaching an all-time high of 3.03 Points in 2002 and a record low of 0.00 Points in 2006. This means the country has been enjoying peace and non-existent terrorist threats or high level attacks for the past decades. Namibia can therefore be considered a country that does not fall on the radar of terrorist groups and radicals.
Advices:
The country should employ its particular security body to protect its investments in the country while working hand in hand with local security bodies to prevent any scenario of terrorist attack.
Whether as a result of the inadequate regulatory structure, agency conflicts, or uneven enforcement, mining operations are threatening the integrity and stability of Namibia’s fragile protected lands. The adverse impacts resulting from mining activities range from landscape alteration to soil and water contamination, human and wildlife exposures to toxic materials, water depletion, and loss of habitat for sensitive plant and animal species. Many of these effects are unavoidable by-products of mining activities. For instance, air pollution and visual pollution of pristine vistas necessarily accompany any use of vehicles, the detonation of explosives, or the erection of any structures, even temporary one.
Advices:
CNNC though polluting the environment due to their mining activities can compensate by starting reforestation projects by planting trees that will contribute in reducing the carbon footprint in the area.
Husab and Rössing uranium mines plagued by inconsistent desalinated water supply. Proper desalinated water sourcing projects should be implemented. This will go a long way to prove to the Namibians and their government that CNNC actually cares about the environment and the quality of water in the different areas where their activities are carried out.
Assume that there will be adverse impacts until proven otherwise. Extractive industries like mining are inherently destructive processes. When assessing the environmental impact of a mining company’s activities, the burden should rest with the mining company to prove that the proposed activity will not harm the environment or that any environmental damage will be remediated to the satisfaction of the Government and other stakeholders.
Create an alert list of stakeholders to be notified when EIA documents and expert evaluations of EIAs are available. To increase transparency in the application and permitting processes and incorporate as much community involvement in the process as possible, the permitting agency should create a list of groups and individuals who will be notified when EIA reports are completed. Such groups could include Government entities, NGOs, donor agencies, scientific bodies, and other civil society groups. The permitting agency should also notify these same groups when the expert analysis of the EIA is complete. After notification, interested groups and individuals should be able to access these reports electronically (and companies should be encouraged to make their EIA reports available in an electronic format) or gather printed copies made available for free by the permitting agency.
Defining generally-held perceptions and attitudes towards Chinese businesses, the PRC government and ordinary Chinese nationals by Africans is a very contentious undertaking. It is alleged – often in various media outlets - that the expansion and activities by China are detrimental to ordinary African citizens. Such articles refer to unfair and discriminatory labour practices, resource exploitation with only minimal compensation, and environmental harm caused by Chinese firms as well as undue influence over African leaders into internal, national affairs by the Chinese state. Thus the continents’ citizens are often portrayed as bewildered, concerned or downright hostile towards the PRC and Chinese citizens in general.
Contrary to the assertions of many media commentators and some academics, survey data indicates that many Namibians and also most Africans display a positive attitude towards China and its engagement on the continent. An analysis by the pan-African perception survey project Afrobarometer of its 2014/15 survey data finds that an overall average of 63 percent of respondents from 36 African nations stated that they judged China to have a “somewhat” or “very” positive influence in their respective country. Indeed, 66 percent of Namibians saw a positive influence by the PRC. The country’s citizens also noted that the most important factor contributing to a positive image of China was the “investment in infrastructure and business” which was identified by 58 percent of respondents.
Advices:
Submit environmental impact assessments to independent third party experts for review. One way to help ensure that only reputable consultants are used is to submit EIAs to external expert evaluation. This review would create accountability for the consultants, and provide the Government with critical help in evaluating the methodology and assessing the reliability of EIAs. Making the results of this independent analysis public would provide yet another layer of protection, and prevent the reviewing bodies from being influenced by the views of those whose work they are charged with scrutinizing.
Identify all lifecycle costs in the environmental impact assessment including the costs of reclamation, closure, waste treatment and disposal, post-closure monitoring, maintenance, and human and wildlife exposures and treatment. These costs should take water contamination and usage into account. Assessment of the potential for contamination of surface and groundwater should be conducted. For example, impacts on surface and groundwater can be assessed through certification by a qualified professional that water treatment, or groundwater pumping, will not be required indefinitely in order to meet the law’s surface or groundwater quality standards beyond the boundary of the mine. In addition, minimized water usage should be adopted as a goal. Costs regarding acid mine drainage and air quality should also be identified. Companies should conduct supervised adequate pre-mine sampling and analysis for acid-producing minerals and assess the potential for airborne hazardous emissions. These reports should be passed on to the proper directorates in the ministries to undertake a technical analysis.
According to Selma el Obeid, who has been a Partner for nine years of RAISON (Research and Information Services of Namibia), the Namibia uranium mining sector is surrounded by problems concerning the distribution and transparency of the mining rent, health and safety, environmental impacts, labor disputes, legislative controls and non-proliferation issue.
Uranium mining in Namibia is mostly done in the Erongo Region within the Namib Naukluft National Park, a sensitive natural environment where the rate of ecological recovery is slow. The mining industry is an important water consumer in a desert country. As a result, water shortage is of concern, for example, NamWater was unable to supply Husab with sufficient water in February and March 2018.
Although some companies have developed environmental programs, uranium mining still has potential impacts on the environment, for example on the loss of biodiversity and human health as a result of water contamination and radiation. Namibia’s open-pit mining of uranium mining entails the removal of vast quantities of soil and rock, some of which emit radon. This is a radioactive gas which can be dispersed in air and water. Analyses of samples of soil, sediments and water in the vicinity of the Rössing mine found radon and significant contamination by various chemicals downstream of the mine’s dumps. High concentrations of uranium have also been detected in underground water downstream of the Rössing mine in the Khan River and Swakop rivers. By contrast, concentrations of uranium are lower upstream of the two rivers. In principle, the health and safety of mine workers and the public is protected by regulations of the Labour Act, the Atomic Energy and Radiation Protection Act and the Workers Compensation Act (WCA).
Environmental Impacts: Soil contamination, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Mine tailing spills.
Health Impacts: Occupational disease and accidents, Deaths.
Potential: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…)
Advices:
The Namibia Uranium Institute, opened in 2009, aims to further improve health, environment and radiation safety in the industry. As the industry has developed very modern production processes, the working conditions have improved. CNNC must therefore work hand in hand with the Namibian Research Institute to implement plans that will alleviate the effect of uranium mining on the environment.
Clean and potable water should also be made available to the community by making sure they are decontaminated and free from any harmful substance.
Keep communities informed and involved in decision-making about mining activities.
Other challenges in the uranium sector could emerge due to differences in the management style that faces both the mine workers and the Chinese investors. The strong Mine workers Union of Namibia (MUN) which was born in 1978 at the Rössing mine, is on the alert about the Chinese domination of the uranium sector. MUN Acting President Allen Kalumbu said “the sale of Rössing will make 90 % of the country’s uranium, to be owned by Chinese state-owned companies. The union fear that this will be a direct monopoly which might have a negative impact in the near future”. In 2019, CNN has terminated the contracts of nine labor leaders, accusing them of leaking confidential information. According to the nine workers, they have been sacked because they refused to accept compromises. The MUN accuses the new management of changing the established agreements by less favourable ones, in particular concerning the salary scales and structures.
On August 17th 2015, Workers at Rio Tinto’s Rössing uranium mine in Namibia organized a demonstration and delivered a petition to management stating that Rössing managers “want to make us to revert to the apartheid system.” Rössing workers’ demands included the withdrawal of charges against workers that protested the installation of surveillance equipment, that management respect company policy, and that management treat workers with respect.
They also recently raised concern about the increasing use of precarious labour at Rössing. Precarious labour includes temporary, casual and contracted-out work that is often low-wage, low-benefit and insecure.
Though this event happened 8 years ago and under a different management, it is quite relevant to understand that mine workers constantly advocate through their union for better working conditions, pay and overall benefits.
Advices:
Making sure that they are a happy with their working conditions, salary, benefits will go a long way to prevent any thought of strike or negative intent against the mine and its facilities.
Management should organize meetings with MUN to assess their needs and what needs to be done to reach an agreement as far as workers’ welfare is concerned.
Make sure that workers’ rights are respected both employed, recently sacked or workers who resigned. Namibian workers feel they are not treated with respect and acknowledge as far as their output is concerned. Management must therefore, for example, organize events to reward the hardest and best working employee on a weekly and monthly basis. This will incite efficiency within the workers.