Uranium plant to cost billions

Cape Town - Gecko Namibia is prepared to invest R12bn in an industrial park to the north of Swakopmund to ensure that the country derives maximum benefit from the increasing mining of uranium.

But the project could cause an environmental uproar in the country (see report elsewhere on the page).

In particular, Gecko wants to be involved in producing the reagents (sulphuric acid and alkaline chemicals) required by uranium, electricity and water desalination projects.

The plants Gecko envisages establishing in the industrial park for heavy industry include those for sulphuric acid, soda ash, a plant for leaching agents, phosphoric acid, a desalination plant and a port for importing and exporting large commodities in bulk.

According to Gecko's explanatory document all the chemical substances required for exploiting uranium in Namibia are currently imported through the Walvis Bay harbour and then conveyed to the mines in large trucks. As new mines open it is expected that the demand for these materials will increase threefold and Walvis Bay will not be able to handle the volume.

The group expects the acid plant to produce 1.2m tonnes of acid a year from 400 000 tonnes of sulphur. This sulphur will be imported through the envisaged new port. Storage facilities for the sulphur will also need to be constructed.

Other plants envisaged include a soda plant to produce 250 000 tonnes of soda ash and 225 000 tonnes of bicarbonate a year. To this end 650 000 tonnes of salt and 650 000 tonnes of marble will be required, as well as 70 000 tonnes of coal.

The salt and marble will be transported to the plant by road while the coal will be imported through the proposed harbour.

Every year 90 000 tonnes of a by-product, caustic soda, will be manufactured.

Phosphate minerals and sulphuric acid are required to produce phosphoric acid. In 2009 the Gecko Group acquired the rights to exploit phosphates on the ocean floor along the Namibian coast. Gecko expects to produce three million tonnes of phosphoric acid a year.

The construction of a new port is deemed necessary because the Walvis Bay harbour currently handles around 1.2m tonnes of bulk freight and the proposed development requires 6m tonnes of capacity. Preparations will also be needed for handling so-called “clean” and “hazardous” commodities.

Apart from the financial benefits the project will bring Namibia, it will also create jobs. For the developmental phase of the industrial park 11 250 jobs are in prospect, and after completion of the project there will be around 2 470 permanent job opportunities.

State revenue from the project is estimated to be N$588m by 2017 and by 2023 this should rise to N$1.434bn.

Gecko’s management has indicated that, if it can be proved beyond any doubt that the projected project will be injurious to people and the natural environment, the company will not proceed with it.

The proposed development plan was announced in August and now management is waiting for government to indicate which of the proposed sites can be used to establish such an industrial park.

Gecko is on the point of undertaking a detailed expert environmental impact study over a 12-month period.