Staff Writer
Namibian Marine Phosphate (NMP) has received an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for Mining Licence 170 and its Sandpiper Marine Phosphate Project, although the company says the approval does not allow mining to begin immediately.
NMP said Namibia’s Environmental Commissioner notified the company that the application for the ECC had been approved. The certificate is valid for three years from the date of issue.
The decision has also been communicated to stakeholders and registered Interested and Affected Parties by the project’s appointed environmental assessment practitioner.
NMP said the project remains subject to the implementation of detailed environmental monitoring programmes under its Environmental and Social Management Programme (ESMP), as well as the completion of additional permitting requirements for the terrestrial component.
Under the conditions of the ECC, marine environmental monitoring will be carried out in accordance with the ESMP and the certificate’s conditions.
A government-led oversight structure chaired by the Environmental Commissioner will oversee mining activities, with independent experts involved in reviewing monitoring, baseline validation and impact assessments.
The company will also establish a multi-sectoral Marine Environmental Scientific Advisory Committee (MESAC) to advise on the performance of the ESMP.
NMP stressed that there are no immediate or urgent plans to commence commercial operations.
The Sandpiper Project involves a pelletal-phosphorite resource located in seabed sediments on Namibia’s continental shelf at depths of between 180 and 250 metres.
According to NMP, the resource is considered large enough to support long-term mining and beneficiation, with the potential to underpin the production of fertiliser products and the development of a phosphate-based industry in Namibia.
Subject to the outstanding permitting requirements, the proposed operation would involve controlled dredging over a limited portion of ML 170 at depths of between 200 and 250 metres.
The company expects the project, if developed, to produce about three million tonnes of phosphate concentrate annually through onshore processing.
NMP said mining would cover an average of about 1.7 square kilometres, equivalent to 0.1% of ML 170, each year.
Over a 20-year period, the company estimates the mining footprint would total about 34 square kilometres, or 1.5% of the mining licence area.
This would amount to about 0.002% of the seabed within Namibia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the company.
