New Market Research Report: Namibia Mining Report Q4 2010

Oct. 21, 2010 - PRLog -- Weatherly to resume copper mining in 2011

In July 2010, copper miner Weatherly International announced that it had secured financing of US$7mn from Louis Dreyfus Commodities to help fund the reopening of its Otjihase and Matchless copper mines (which were both placed on care and maintenance in late 2008). It hopes that Otjihase can be back in production during Q111, with Matchless resuming production during Q211. Further funding for restart costs will come from the previously-announced sale of the Kombat mine (for US$3mn) and other 'cash on hand', according to the company. Weatherly has also announced plans to sell a 20% stake in Otjihase and Matchless to local concerns.

Weatherly plans to restart its operations in line with an independent technical review that it commissioned from Coffey Mining. This review envisages average annual production of 7,000 tonnes of copper contained in concentrates over the coming five years, with production peaking at just over 9,000 tonnes in 2013/14. The company will also look to resume production at its Tschudi open pit mine over the medium term.

This resumption of copper production by Weatherly will clearly do much to increase the overall output of the Namibian copper sector over our forecast period. To that end, we have revised up our predictions for copper production in Q410.

Country Overview

Namibia is richly endowed with natural resources; in particular uranium and diamond deposits. The country is the world's fourth-largest producer of uranium and among the largest gem-quality diamond producers in value terms. It also features among the top five nations around the globe for its zinc, copper and lead reserves. To expand the revenue earning potential of its mining industry, the Namibian government is making a concerted effort to establish a strong domestic market for diamond-cutting and polishing. Taken together, these factors underscore the importance of the Namibian mining industry for its economy.

Industry Forecast

We are largely optimistic on the outlook for the Namibian mining sector at present. Demand for diamonds has picked up and there are several uranium mining facilities set to open over the coming few years. Rounding out this propitious picture is the planned resumption of copper mining by Weatherly International during the first half of 2011.

Over the coming years, BMI foresees uranium playing an ever more important role within the Namibian mining sector, becoming more valuable to the country than diamonds. Indeed, already in 2009, uranium sales (of NAD4bn) outstripped diamond sales (of NAD3.8bn) for the first time. Although diamond output should regain traction in 2010, uranium output will also receive a significant boost from the four mines currently scheduled to come onstream between 2010 and 2015. We recently made some upwards revisions to our forecasts for uranium production to reflect this.

Over the 2010-2015 period, Forsys Metal Corps is expected to open its Valencia project, while Areva SA is expected to begin operations at its Trekkopje mine, Extract Resources is expected to start mining at the Rossing South mine and Bannerman Resources is anticipated to begin extraction at its Etango and Swakop River mine.

At present, we believe the Namibian mining sector can grow by an average annual growth rate of 3.23% between now and 2014, with risks very much to the upside as these new projects come onstream.

For more information or to purchase this report, go to:
-  http://www.fastmr.com/prod/88534_namibia_mining_report_q4...

Report Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
- Namibia Political SWOT
- Namibia Economic SWOT
- Namibia Business Environment SWOT
Global Mining Outlook
- Table: Rio Tinto's Capital And Major Evaluation Projects For 2010
- BMI Views
- Risks to Outlook
Industry Trends and Developments
- Overview
- Regulatory Structure And Developments
Key Projects
- Metals
- Copper
- Lead, Zinc and Silver
- Uranium
- Minerals
- Diamonds
Business Environment
- Africa Mining Overview
- Africa Mining Business Environment Ratings
- Table: Africa Mining Business Environment Ratings
- Namibia's Mining Business Environment Ratings
- Limits of Potential Returns
- Risks to Realisation of Returns
Political Environment
- Domestic Politics
- Long-Term Political Outlook
Industry Forecast Scenario (to be updated)
- Nickel
- Table: BMI's Nickel Forecasts
- Table: Global Nickel Statistics, 2005-2014
- Aluminium
- Table: BMI's Aluminium Forecasts
- Table: Global Aluminium Statistics, 2005-2011
- Lead
- Table: BMI's Lead Forecasts
- Table: Global Lead Statistics, 2005-2011
- Zinc
- Table: BMI's Zinc Forecasts
- Table: Global Zinc Statistics, 2005-2011
- Copper
- Table: BMI's Copper Forecasts
- Table: Global Copper Statistics, 2005-2011
- Namibia's Mining Industry Forecast
- Table: Namibia Mining Industry Data And Forecast, 2007-2014
Competitive Landscape
- Table: Key Players In Namibia's Mining Industry
Company Monitor
- Diamond Fields International
- Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Namdeb)
- Rossing Uranium
Global Assumptions
- Table: Global Assumptions, 2009-2014
- Table: Global And Regional Real GDP Growth , 2009-2014 (% change y-o-y)
- Table: Exchange Rates, Selected Countries, 2009-2014 (annual average)
- Table: Real GDP Growth - Consensus Forecasts, 2010 And 2011 (% change y-o-y)
- Table: Selected Developed States' Real GDP Growth, 2007-2012 (% change y-o-y)
- Table: Selected Emerging Markets' GDP Growth, 2009-2012 (% change y-o-y)
Business Environment Ratings Methodology
- Table: Mining Business Environment Indicators
- Table: Weighting Of Components

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.