Govt stops Xinfeng mining operations, 180 employees sent home
Government has halted Chinese miner Xinfeng Namibia’s N$600 million lithium processing plant and open pit mines outside Uis in Erongo Region due to alleged irregularities, prompting the company to send 180 of its employees home.
This follows the mining commissioner Isabella Kandjii-Chirchir's visit to the mine just a week earlier, where she made findings that the operations at the Ringman open pit mine were allegedly illegal. She ordered that the operations be stopped.
Although she did not want to elaborate on the issue when asked, citing sensitivity of the matter, Kandjii-Chirchir confirmed that the Longfire mining claims and the plant are not directly affected by her directive.
Previously, the open pit mine on two of Longfire Investments' mining claims supplied lithium ore to the processing plant. However, sources close to the operations say the Longfire open pit mine, about 10 km from the Ringman lithium deposit, has been dug too deep and that the lithium resource in this open pit mine has dried up. As a result, the entire workforce was deployed to the Ringman mine, despite the fact that the paperwork for that particular mine was not yet in order, the source claims.
Without the supply of ore to the rock crusher and the plant, the production of lithium concentrate could not continue. Between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of concentrate from the mine are still waiting to be exported.
"Then everyone was [told to leave], from A to Z," says the source.
Scandal
Ringman is the mine that emerged out of the Orange River Mining's claim that Xinfeng controversially bought for N$50 million nearly two years ago, leading to screaming media headlines and the resignation of some ministry of mines’ officials, amid investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Xinfeng was also in the news during 2023 for allegedly exporting unprocessed lithium ore in violation of a Cabinet ban.
This contributed to the halt in operations at Xinfeng's other lithium mine outside Omaruru.
A consultant from Xinfeng, who previously disclosed the plant's progress, was approached for comment. No reply was received at the time of going to print. It is understood that Xinfeng's owners have jetted into Namibia last week, to meet government officials this week the resolve the impasse. – [email protected]
This follows the mining commissioner Isabella Kandjii-Chirchir's visit to the mine just a week earlier, where she made findings that the operations at the Ringman open pit mine were allegedly illegal. She ordered that the operations be stopped.
Although she did not want to elaborate on the issue when asked, citing sensitivity of the matter, Kandjii-Chirchir confirmed that the Longfire mining claims and the plant are not directly affected by her directive.
Previously, the open pit mine on two of Longfire Investments' mining claims supplied lithium ore to the processing plant. However, sources close to the operations say the Longfire open pit mine, about 10 km from the Ringman lithium deposit, has been dug too deep and that the lithium resource in this open pit mine has dried up. As a result, the entire workforce was deployed to the Ringman mine, despite the fact that the paperwork for that particular mine was not yet in order, the source claims.
Without the supply of ore to the rock crusher and the plant, the production of lithium concentrate could not continue. Between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of concentrate from the mine are still waiting to be exported.
"Then everyone was [told to leave], from A to Z," says the source.
Scandal
Ringman is the mine that emerged out of the Orange River Mining's claim that Xinfeng controversially bought for N$50 million nearly two years ago, leading to screaming media headlines and the resignation of some ministry of mines’ officials, amid investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Xinfeng was also in the news during 2023 for allegedly exporting unprocessed lithium ore in violation of a Cabinet ban.
This contributed to the halt in operations at Xinfeng's other lithium mine outside Omaruru.
A consultant from Xinfeng, who previously disclosed the plant's progress, was approached for comment. No reply was received at the time of going to print. It is understood that Xinfeng's owners have jetted into Namibia last week, to meet government officials this week the resolve the impasse. – [email protected]
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