European Union and the government Namibia have reached a provisional agreement over rare earth minerals.
Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo who confirmed the report said the two have agreed on conditions, materials and mode of processing the minerals that will ensure the country benefit. He acknowledged the country’s rare earth metals demand is huge given that they are critical to the renewable energy sectors. The European Union intends to conduct geological projects to explore the resources.
Mining in Namibia
In general, mining, Namibia’s leading economic sector, accounts for roughly 10% of Namibia’s GDP every year. Historically, diamond mining has been the leading sub-sector of Namibia’s mining industry. The country is also the world’s fourth-largest producer of uranium oxide. The nuclear industry continues to fuel the demand for uranium.
Namibia is an up-and-coming source country for critical minerals, which are important for renewable energy technologies. The country pride itself in having significant reserves of rare earth minerals such as dysprosium and terbium needed for permanent magnets in the batteries of electric cars and wind turbines. As such, they are used power the global transition to green energy.