CHAMWE KAIRA
Andrada Mining Limited spent N$481 million on Namibian suppliers, representing 95% of total procurement expenditure, the company said in its sustainability report for the financial year ended 29 February.
Andrada is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) and has mining assets in Namibia. Andrada strives to produce critical raw materials from a large resource portfolio of critical metals, including lithium, tin, tungsten, copper and tantalum.
These metals are important enablers of the green energy transition and essential for components of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.
The report said during the financial year, it produced 910 tonnes of tin concentrate.
According to World Bank data, the company’s direct economic contributions of £25.7 million in the 2024 financial year also generated an additional £12.8 million in indirect economic benefits.
“Global discussion and action regarding the critical minerals value chain has come to the fore, as the world continuously seeks to scale the production of minerals needed to drive the low-carbon transition. We are motivated by the drive to mine responsibly, uplift our local and national communities, and deliver products that will ultimately benefit the world’s transition to a low-carbon environment,” Anthony Viljoen, CEO & executive director, said.
Andrada has committed to investigating and investing in renewable, lower-carbon energy options, energy efficiency initiatives, and nature solutions to deliver emissions reductions, with the overarching goal of reducing its dependence on the national grid.
“Adopting a 100% renewable energy approach is very ambitious and will require time and significant capital. Instead, we are investigating blended approaches like battery storage and renewable energy, as well as backup on-site diesel generators,” the company said.
In terms of water supply, the company sources water from a permitted network of boreholes and from two permitted surface water bodies; one is a historic opencast mining pit that over time has filled with water, and the second is from our active mining pit where water ingress began in September 2022.
As part of Andrada Mining’s five-year expansion strategy for the Uis Mine, the company is collaborating with NamWater to explore the feasibility of a desalination bulk water supply solution.
“This initiative aims to provide a holistic water infrastructure framework, supporting not only the Uis operational growth but also new third-party projects in the Uis and broader Erongo region,” the company said.
In recent years, there has been a global focus on the critical minerals value chain, driven by the ongoing efforts to increase the production of minerals necessary for the low-carbon transition.
“We are motivated by the drive to mine responsibly, uplift our local and national communities, and deliver products that will ultimately benefit the world’s transition to a low-carbon environment,” the report said.
Andrada employs 240 direct employees and has started that applying the mining sector’s social multiplier of seven, an estimated 2 982 people have benefited across Namibia through Andrada, including 504 in Uis itself.
