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HomeNewsLithium group ‘hijacked’ copper mining licence – The Namibian
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Lithium Group ‘Hijacked’ Copper Mining Licence – The Namibian
By Admin Last updated Nov 6, 2022
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BRIEFCASE Company was implicated in the N$50 Million lithium mining transaction. It allegedly stole another exploration license from a Canadian company who had invested more than N$88 million in this project.
Court documents state that Ralph Muyamba – former technical adviser to minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo – was directly involved in the process which benefited his cousin, who is said to have a history of hijacking natural resource deals.
Haib Minerals (Pty) Ltd held the license in question. This subsidiary of Canadian-listed Deep-South Resources Inc claims to have spent about 17 years prospecting for copper in the //Kharas region.
The Canadian company also claimed they found “significant” copper in the area.
However, the Ministry of Mines and Energy stripped them of the mining rights and shifted the exploration licence (EPL) to Orange River Mining – a company belonging to mining speculator Peter Shifwaku.
Mu-yamba, Alweendo’s technical assistance until the middle of last year, is Shifwaku’s cousin.
The High Court is currently handling the matter.
According to court documents, Muyamba emailed Deep-South representatives in May 2021. This email confirmed receipt of their representations and appeal to Alweendo.
Deep-South appealed Alweendo for reconsideration after rejecting their renewal.
Muyamba also requested that the company provide proof of N$23 million it claimed it had spent on exploration activities between 2017 and 2019.
Muyamba also participated in meetings between Haib and Alweendo representatives to discuss the EPL.
Haib is alleged by court documents that the ministry transferred their EPL to Orange River Mining while the Canadian company still had two more days before it expired.
They claimed that Orange River applied for copper exploration rights only in the same area six months prior to the Deep-South EPL expiring.
They did this while applying for renewal three months prior to their license expiring, as required by ministry.
In court documents, the aggrieved company also claims that Orange River Mining’s November 2020 EPL Application covered precious metals and base metals. These were all part of Deep-South’s exploration licence.
According to the company, this is against the Minerals Act.
Orange River Mining was given the EPL 8457 exploration license.
The company claims it took longer than the required six years due to lower international copper prices. This was further compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
REFUSING RECONSIDERATION
Alweendo refused to reconsider his decision and chose to favor a company owned by his cousin, who was then sued by the Canadian-owned outfit.
The company asks the court to review Alweendo’s decision and declare it null. The company also requests that no other mineral rights in the area where EPL3140 was designated be granted until the court makes its decision.
In lieu of the outcome of the case, the court granted an interim order prohibiting the ministry to award any mineral rights in that area.
Alweendo states that Deep-South was refused a renewal application due to the failure to submit a pre-feasibility analysis, which was required at the time the licence was granted.
“The applicant’s failure to submit this crucial report was a strong indication that the applicant was not moving towards the mining stage in terms of the agreed timeline,” the minister says.
He claims that he made his decision during 2021 at a meeting attended to by John Akwenye and Ally Angula, the company’s directors, and their Canadian partners Pierre Leveille & Stuard Willian.
Muyamba and Erasmus Shivolo, former mining commissioners, attended the meeting. Shifwaku ended up winning his licence.
Court documents show that EPL 3140 was not renewed after the Canadian company had completed a two year exploration program in which they spent N$31million.
Lveill, Deep-South’s chief executive officer, says the company was still running three drilling sites, as well as metallurgical tests running in Australia.
“The company has brought the project to a more advanced level than proposed to the ministry in April 2019, and has invested over N$8 million more than the original proposed budget.
“Haib was proposing the renewal of April 2021 to advance the project at the feasibility study level with an investment budget of N$ 81 million.
“It seems the ministry preferred to consider the application of Orange River Mining, a company that had no cash and no technical expertise at the time,” Lveill says.
GOVERNMENT OFFILIALS
Namibia Last week, it was reported that a group of government officials played a part in the N$50 million sale a lithium mining deal. Muyamba’s cousin was one of the main beneficiaries.
It is unclear if the EPL at issue was part of the Orange River Mining transaction valued at N$50million with Chinese-owned Xingfeng.
Muyamba and Timoteus Masheduna, both historians in the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs are also included in this transaction.
Ndili Benyamen is the third official, a mines ministry geoologist, and his wife Albertina Ekandjo are the other.
Other names in the lithium saga include Immanuel Schoopala Iipanda and Hosea Isakshoombe.
The officials are suspected to use their relatives and associates as a way to apply for mining claims, especially in areas with high-value minerals.
These claims focus mainly on claims that are about expire and where minimal or no exploration work has been done.
In order to secure these rights, some government officials are suspected to have shared information with these companies.
LAWMAKERS TAKE ALWEENDO INTO QUESTION
Since last week, Namibian parliamentarians have questioned Alweendo about how he could allow corruption in his ministry to continue.
The minister then dismissed the mining commissioner Erasmus Schivolo without giving any explanation.
“Can you explain to this august house why you deemed it fit to dismiss the mining commissioner?” a PDM parliamentarian asked Alweendo last week.
“Can you also explain what is being done by the ministry to address the serious allegations surrounding the N$50 million lithium mining EPL?”
Another PDM parliamentarian, Hidipo Hamata, asked: “Can the minister please explain why the previous mining commissioner was removed from the position? Don’t you think the previous mining commissioner should be suspended to allow proper investigations?”
*This article has been produced by The Namibian’s Investigative Unit. Use your secure email to contact us [email protected]
Source: namibian