Namibia is seeking to strengthen local participation in its mining and energy sectors as growing exploration activity highlights structural gaps between licence ownership and technical capacity, according to Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy Modestus Amutse.
Amutse said increasing investor interest in Namibia’s mineral and petroleum resources has brought renewed attention to the ability of local holders of exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs) to participate meaningfully in project development and negotiations.
He said many licence holders possess legal rights to explore but lack the geological data and technical understanding required to assess the potential value of resources within their licence areas, limiting their negotiating leverage when entering partnerships with investors.
“If I give it to you, a high percentage of people may not know what they own apart from the paper. If I ask you what is on the seabed or on the land covered by this licence, the answer will be ‘I don’t know’. If you don’t know the quantity and quality of what you have, are you in a position to negotiate for a better price? No, you are not,” Amutse said.
He said the absence of detailed exploration information often allows investors to justify lower valuations by pointing to the risks associated with early-stage exploration, while local licence holders lack the technical evidence needed to challenge such positions.
The minister said building local technical capacity would be essential to ensuring that Namibians capture greater value from resource development as projects move from exploration towards production. He added that tertiary institutions have begun introducing training programmes aimed at strengthening skills in mining and energy, which he said would support stronger long-term participation by locals in the sector.
The remarks come as the ministry continues to process a large number of licence applications amid heightened exploration interest. In August last year, the ministry said it was reviewing 415 EPL applications, with 159 submissions made in 2025 still awaiting evaluation by the relevant committee.
Namibia currently has 588 active EPLs and 1,150 registered mining claims, compared with 165 active mining licences, reflecting the gap between exploration activity and projects advancing to production.
In 2024, the ministry tightened requirements for the awarding of EPLs, stating that licences would only be granted to applicants who had completed minimum exploration work programmes and demonstrated the financial and technical capacity to carry out their activities.
