By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, October 28 (Radarr Africa) – Bannerman Energy and its Chinese partner have approved the development of the Etango uranium mine in Namibia’s Erongo region, with commissioning and first production targeted for 2028, World Nuclear News and The Namibian reported.
The Etango Joint Venture took a positive final investment decision on October 23, moving the project into full-scale construction, according to World Nuclear News. The venture is owned 55% by Bannerman and 45% by CNNC Overseas Limited (CNOL), a subsidiary of China National Uranium Corporation, which is part of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Pre-production capital cost is about $353 million, or roughly 5.8 billion Namibian dollars, the reports said. World Nuclear News said about $64 million has already been spent on early works and the rest will come from existing joint venture cash.
Gavin Chamberlain, Bannerman’s managing director and chief executive, called the decision “a defining moment for Bannerman, for our partner, CNOL, and for Namibia”, according to World Nuclear News. He told the launch event that the project is now fully funded, The Namibian reported.
The mine is in the Erongo region, about 30 kilometres south-east of Swakopmund. The base case is production of 3.5 million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8) a year, according to World Nuclear News. The Namibian reported that most of the output is tied to Chinese buyers.
The project is estimated to hold 207 million pounds of U3O8 at a 100 parts-per-million cut-off. A 2024 scoping study indicates the mine could expand to 6.7 million pounds a year, World Nuclear News said.
A definitive feasibility study completed in December 2022 supports conventional open-pit mining and acid heap-leach processing, the publication reported.
Early works have been under way since January 2024. By the end of September 2026, bulk earthworks were 99% complete, according to World Nuclear News. A local contractor, K Neumayer Civil Contractors, is advancing concrete work on the primary crusher and dry plant, and the first phase of the permanent water pipeline is about 90% complete. A permanent water supply agreement with state-owned utility NamWater was agreed in June 2026.
The Namibian said 629 people are employed on the site and 99% of them are Namibian.
Modestus Amutse, Namibia’s Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, welcomed the development at the official launch and progress update on Friday. “We must also consider employment, skills development, local procurement, enterprise growth,” he said, according to The Namibian. He said the mine is expected to add to Namibia’s uranium production capacity once it is operating.
The Namibian reported that the mine offers a new source of export earnings as diamond revenue has collapsed. It said Namibia is the world’s third-largest uranium producer, with about 12% of global output, behind Kazakhstan and Canada.
Bannerman gave a 5% loan-carried shareholding in the project to the One Economy Foundation, a Namibian social welfare organisation, in 2017, World Nuclear News reported.
World Nuclear News also said Danie van Aswegen, who has been Bannerman’s chief operating officer for Namibia since October 2025, was appointed chief executive of Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia.
Chamberlain described the project as a long-life, large-scale producer and said it is the next major greenfield uranium project globally to enter production, according to World Nuclear News.
The Etango Joint Venture holds a 95% interest in the project, with the remaining 5% held by the One Economy Foundation, based on the World Nuclear News account.
