SAUMA raises serious concerns over Parliamentary Committee Report on in situ uranium leach mining

A Hidden Lifeline: This perspective shows the farming communities in the Stampriet Basin where underground water is the only resource available to sustain livelihoods.

The Stampriet Aquifer Uranium Mining Association (SAUMA) expresses serious concerns

regarding the recent report tabled in Parliament by the Standing Committee on Natural

Resources, which recommends that Headspring Investments be permitted to drill and conduct in situ uranium extraction at its Omaheke sites in the transboundary Stampriet Artesian Basin.

SAUMA was taken by surprise by the Committee’s findings. Despite our efforts to engage with the Standing Committee, SAUMA was not consulted at any stage of the process. Instead, exclusive engagement appears to have been afforded to Headspring Investments, a foreign-owned company. This raises fundamental questions about the transparency, balance, and credibility of the Standing Committee. The stance taken by the Committee in its report and in presenting only one side of the issue is highly irresponsible.

Of particular concern is the continued absence of a comprehensive, independent

hydrogeological flow study based on the present water usage in the basin. Such a study was explicitly recommended by a previous Standing Committee and is a prerequisite for informed and responsible decision-making. Proceeding without this critical assessment disregards well-documented environmental risks associated with in situ leach uranium mining. The basin is covered by farms and has been a farming area for decades. Extensive published studies on the underground geology and hydrology have been ignored but are critical for understanding the extreme dangers that in situ leach mining will pose for the groundwater upon which those farming in the basin rely for their livelihoods. The underground water is the only water they have.

Presently, irrigation pumps in excess of 700 cubic metres of water every hour, 24 hours a day, every day, all year round. This induces a huge rate of flow of the underground water and draws water from 10s of kilometres away. This alone will draw highly toxic mine solution out of a mine area and cause widespread contamination of this critical source of underground drinking water.

700m³ per hour is equivalent to emptying an Olympic pool every few hours. This massive "pull" creates rapid underground currents that can transport mining contaminants over vast distances.

SAUMA is further concerned about the potential transboundary impacts on shared groundwater resources. Should neighbouring countries experience contamination of their drinking water supplies and seek compensation, it remains unclear who would bear responsibility for such consequences.

Water is Namibia’s most valuable and vulnerable resource. Any decision that places this

resource at risk must be based on sound science, inclusive consultation, and the precautionary principle.

The Contamination Risk: This cross-section shows how high-capacity farming pumps create a pressure gradient, drawing toxic mining solutions (yellow plume) out of the mine site and into the freshwater supply.

Why is the Standing Committee on Natural Resources ignoring our own Namibian legislation (Water Resources Management Act 11 of 2013)?

Next Steps

SAUMA is currently considering all available options in response to the Committee’s report. The studies and expert reports reviewed by SAUMA consistently highlight significant risks and unresolved challenges. It is therefore deeply concerning that conclusions appear to have been reached without adequate consideration of these factors. SAUMA remains committed to protecting Namibia’s water resources and ensuring that mining decisions are made in the best long-term interests of the country and its people.

REPORT ON THE EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES BY HEADSPRING INVESTMENTS / ROSATOM IN NAMIBIA