Justicia Shipena
No progress has been reported on the independent water flow study recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) for the Leonardville area, the Stampriet Aquifer Uranium Mining Association (Sauma) said.
The group renewed its call for government transparency and stronger protection of underground drinking water against the risks posed by uranium mining.
Sauma’s statement follows a recent meeting between Headspring Investments, Omaheke governor Pijoo Nganate, and the chair of parliament’s standing committee on natural resources, Tobie Aupindi.
At the meeting, Aupindi argued that opposition to the project lacked scientific proof.
“To date there has been no communication regarding the progress of this study or the identities of those entrusted with its execution,” said Sauma.
The association rejected this, noting it had presented evidence since 2021 from over 100 international publications and expert reports, calling the proposed mine “a looming catastrophe for Namibia.”
Suama stressed that in-situ leach uranium mining involves injecting chemicals into aquifers to dissolve uranium, a process that risks underground leakages that cannot be controlled.
The group warned that uranium levels in the mining solution could reach 30 000 times above World Health Organisation safety guidelines for drinking water.
The Leonardville aquifer currently pumps more than 700 cubic metres of water every hour across 8 000 square kilometres, serving irrigation, food production, and household use.
“Water is life,” the group said, warning that pollution would threaten agriculture, exports, tourism, and thousands of jobs.
Headspring Investments is the Namibian operating company of Uranium One Group, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Rosatom.
The company intends to mine for uranium through the method of in-situ leaching in the Leonardville area.
In June last year, Headspring’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), carried out under its parent company Uranium One, claimed no liquid residues would be produced during the project.
But Amie Leggett, a principal scientist in hydrogeology, questioned this claim at a high-level meeting in Mariental, citing the lack of details on surface processing facilities.
At the time, the ministry of environment extended the EIA public review period after SAUMA flagged procedural lapses and poor public awareness of the documents.
Former agriculture, water and land reform minister Calle Schlettwein repeatedly raised concerns about compliance.
He noted that since 2012, Headspring failed to properly seal and grout boreholes as required by licence conditions.
In 2021, the government withdrew drilling permits due to non-compliance. Headspring challenged the decision in court, saying it was not given a chance to prove that its method would not contaminate water.
The ministry maintained its position, confirming during inspections in January 2024 that no drilling was taking place but noting new applications from Headspring for over 300 additional boreholes.
Schlettwein had urged Parliament not to renew or issue new licences for uranium exploration in the Stampriet Basin, saying expectations of mining could undermine water protection.
In October last year, UN Special Rapporteur on Water Rights Pedro Arrojo-Agudo labelled such mining “ecocide” and called for it to be stopped immediately.
He warned that toxic risks to water could last “decades and hundreds of years.” Namibia has since sought technical advice from UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other partners, but no official update has been provided.
The Stampriet Aquifer supplies drinking, livestock, and irrigation water to about 80,000 people in the Omaheke and Hardap regions.
Sauma says the government must choose to protect scarce water sources over short-term mining interests.
Questions sent to the ministry of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform were not answered by the time of publication.
