CNFA statements on seabed mining ‘misleading’

ELLANIE SMIT WINDHOEKThe Namibian Chamber of Mines says recent assertions made by the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations (CNFA) with regards to phosphate and seabed mining in Namibia are “factually inaccurate and grossly misleading”.The statements were made to a local daily newspaper and the Chamber said they casts unwarranted aspersions not only on the integrity of seabed mining, but also on the mining industry and government.The CNFA alleged that more thorough Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and verification studies on marine phosphate mining are required as they currently do not address many of the key issues the fishing industry has raised.However, the Chamber said these assertions are factually incorrect and misleading.“Namibia’s Environmental Management Act requires all mining and exploration projects to carry out a thorough EIA.”It further said Namibian Marine Phosphate’s (NMP) environmental impact studies are publicly available and considered by experts in the Benguela marine system to be some of the most extensive ever undertaken in Namibia.It was also pointed out by the Chamber that the fishing industry has been part of the EIA process as a registered stakeholder.Unlikely to recoverMeanwhile, the CNFA alleged that it is universally accepted that the type of damage caused by seabed mining is unlikely to recover for decades - if not centuries.However, the Chamber said an independent 2008 study on the cumulative impacts of the effects of marine diamond mining provides evidence - from repeated monitoring studies over a 10-year period - that the seabed recovers within a period of two to 15 years after seabed mining.The CNFA also said that a legal framework for seabed mining is necessary but non-existent and that self-regulation by an industry does not work, which the Chamber strongly rejected.It said this implies that the Namibian Minerals (Exploration and Mining) Act, the Environmental Management Act and the Namibian Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone of Namibia Act 3 are deficient in their legislative function and that seabed mining is currently being conducted illegally.“The truth is that these Acts are well constructed and gazetted with very stringent contractual obligations placed on the proponents,” the Chamber said.

CNFA statements on seabed mining ‘misleading’

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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CNFA statements on seabed mining ‘misleading’

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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