Otjiwarongo

The official opening of B2Gold’s Otjikoto gold mine north of Otjiwarongo symbolises another step in Namibia’s drive towards attracting investment. This will in turn feed the nation’s ultimate goal of sustained economic growth, job creation, wealth distribution and ultimately economic emancipation.

This was part of the message by President Hage Geingob when he officially opened the gold mine on Monday, in what was the first event of its kind he attended as the country’s president.

Noting the mine’s opening is another endorsement of the work that government has done to create a conducive environment for doing business, Geingob remarked that the continued injection of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the economy is also recognition of the manner in which the country is governed and the manner in which its economy is managed. Canadian-based B2Gold has thus far invested US$343 million in the construction and expansion of the gold mine and an additional US$30 million in an onsite power plant.

However, Geingob was quick to point out that people do not eat gold or diamonds.

“These raw materials and alloys are processed into valuable commodities that are bought by affluent people in the developed world. We may be endowed with a wide array of natural resources but if these resources are merely extracted and sold elsewhere, then we do not attain maximum benefit from these resources,” he noted.

Geingob emphasised that projects in extractive industries such as the Otjikoto gold mine should play a crucial role in contributing to the redress of Namibia’s socio-economic deficits.

“I am therefore glad to note that B2 Gold, through the Otjikoto gold project, has contributed extensively to employment and human capital development, one of the many positive spinoffs from this project. At the height of construction, this project employed over 1 000 people including local contractors,” said Geingob.

He congratulated B2Gold’s chief executive officer, Clive Johnson, and the entire management and staff of B2Gold, saying the company has overcome many obstacles to bring the massive project to fruition.

“For a reputable Canadian company to have the confidence to come to Namibia and invest in a project of this magnitude shows that our efforts to make Namibia the preferable and most attractive FDI destination in the region are continuing to bear fruit,” he said.

Geingob highlighted that Namibia’s track record in terms of attracting investment speaks for itself.

He mentioned that the country is rated the sixth best governed African country by the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance; seventh as a “clean country” by Transparency International’s Corruption Index; and the country with the “freest press in Africa” by Reporters without Borders.

“Similarly, our macroeconomic architecture is admirable, underpinned by financial stability evident in our world-class banking system (a sector ranked number 25th in the world by the World Economic Forum), and well regulated through a prudent monetary policy for the past 24 years,” he stated.

The Otjikoto mine achieved commercial production, ahead of schedule, at the end of February 2015. The open pit mine poured its first gold on December 11, 2014, one week ahead of schedule.

In January 2015, the project continued its strong ramp-up to commercial production ahead of schedule and produced 8 587 ounces against a budgeted 8 267 ounces.

Better than budgeted performance was attributed to additional mill availability (89.6 percent versus a budget of 70 percent) and better than anticipated throughput (34 percent above budget).

February 2015 also saw gold production ahead of budget (10 228 ounces produced versus 8 863 ounces budgeted).