Fisheries scientists, government experts and captains of the fishing industries of Namibia and South Africa met in Cape Town, South Africa this week to discuss the potential for managing deep water hake (Merluccius paradoxus) as a shared fish resource. Hake is a vitally important fishery in both countries, providing employment for thousands of people and generating valuable export revenue. The 3-day workshop, which ended Thursday, represented an important first step towards the 2 countries working more closely on managing valuable fisheries resources. It was organised by the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) Programme, an initiative between Angola, Namibia and South Africa that aims to improve the management of the Benguela ecosystem. One of the mandates of the BCLME Programme is to look at ways of managing fish stocks, like hake and horse mackerel that straddle the national borders of the three countries.

"Scientists are not yet certain whether deep water hake is, in fact, a shared stock," explains Dr Mick O’Toole, chief technical advisor of the BCLME Programme in Windhoek.

"This workshop is a first step towards ascertaining to what degree the hake stock is shared and identifying ways in which the two countries can cooperate in the future to manage shared resources." Scientists from Namibia and South Africa have already participated in transboundary surveys of hake undertaken from the deck of the Norwegian research ship, Dr Fridtjof Nansen. The data gathered on these cruises has led scientists to formulate 2 hypotheses concerning the distribution, migration, and abundance of hake in Namibian waters. One theory suggests that hake breeds almost exclusively in South African waters and migrates over the border into Namibia. The second is that hake may spawn in Namibia but the main source of juvenile hake is still south of the Orange River. A report back session for senior management of the fisheries ministries of both countries took place at the end of the workshop.

The envisaged uranium mine Klein Trekkopje in the Namib Desert might become operational by 2008, the company behind the project says. Although the proper feasibility study and environmental assessment are far from complete, the new outfit, UraMin Pty Ltd intends to go ahead, never mind the fact that they have not even got the mining licence from the government. Windhoek residents are still waiting for the promised public hearing to be conducted in the capital, but this has not yet transpired.

UraMin acquired the prospecting rights from the previous leaseholder, Gulf Western Trading Namibia, which held the license since the late 1990s. Low uranium prices thus far precluded further development UraMin Namibia said in a statement this week. The company has up to now invested N$6 million and wants to spend some N$20 million over the next few months to complete its feasibility study.

UraMin Namibia has already started an extensive drilling programme to verify

previous exploration results obtained by earlier companies like Rio Tinto, Elf-Aquataine and more recently, Gulf Western. UraMin expects its feasibility study to be completed only by late 2006 or early 2007, according to Neil Herbert, UraMin Namibia’s financial director.

"Once previous geological results have been satisfactorily verified, work will start to commission the new uranium mine by late 2008", Herbert said. He did not mention the fact that more public hearings must be conducted once the feasibility study is completed and that the company must still get approval from the ministry of mines and energy as well as a mining licence.

UraMin last month listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM), and said that huge interest from especially American investors saw them raise some US$ 60 million, increasing the company’s cash holding to around US$75 million (N$ 475,5 million). The Trekkopje uranium project will require US$180 million (N$1 billion) of capital expenditure. "This will elevate it to the level of the biggest foreign investor ever in Namibia", UraMin said in its statement. UraMin however ignored the fact that the new Skorpion Zinc mine in southern Namibia was a N$3.2 billion (!) investment and is thus the largest investment in the country. - "Once operational, the low-cost mine is expected to employ some 128 people directly, but can also be expected to generate hundreds of other jobs in support industries to the mining sector in the Erongo region", UraMin promises. The company wants to start a skills upgrade programme soon with the Arandis community to train people for employment. UraMin already dishes out bursaries with Helene Matengu the first bursar who completes an honours degree in geology and geochemistry at Rhodes in South Africa., the company said.