Attorney-general roped into lithium debacle

The ministry of mines and energy has sought the legal advice of Attorney-General Festus Mbandeka regarding the manner in which Chinese miner Xingfeng Investments Namibia acquired its licence to extract lithium near Uis in the Erongo Region.

Namibian Sun understands that the ministry’s preliminary investigations found that the company misrepresented facts in its application – something minister Tom Alweendo seeks to rectify.

But, with the licence already issued and Xingfeng already exporting lithium from Uis to China, the ministry’s hands are tied on the matter.

It is for this reason the ministry sought legal advice from Mbandeka – the principal legal adviser to government. Xingfeng was formally alerted to the ministry’s preliminary findings last Thursday and given 30 days within which it must answer to the claims.

Xingfeng made headlines towards the end of last year when allegations emerged that it paid N$50 million to acquire Orange River Mining’s lithium mining exploration licence in Uis.

Orange River Mining belongs to Peter Shifwaku, a cousin to Ralph Muyamba, who hastily resigned as technical advisor to Alweendo last year as the saga surfaced.

The licence initially belonged to Karlowa Mining Enterprises, but it was questionably not renewed and immediately awarded to the company linked to Muyamba, who resigned from the ministry once approval was granted.

Alweendo reported Muyamba to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and replaced Erastus Shivolo as mining commissioner.

Shivolo has consistently denied that he received bribes in order to hasten the transfer of the licence to Orange River Mining, who then sold it to Xingfeng.

Deny, deny, deny

Alweendo was reluctant to go into details of the legal advice solicited from the attorney-general’s office, saying he needs to meet Xingfeng first to hear their response to claims of having acquired the licence irregularly.

Namibian Sun understands the meeting between Xingfeng and the ministry is slated for March.

Asked what action would be taken if Xingfeng is found to have indeed acquired its licence dubiously, Alweendo said: “I am not sure what their answer will be, so I can’t pre-empt what action may be taken”.

Representing Xingfeng, lawyer Nambili Mhata yesterday said his clients deny the allegations made against them.

“Our clients will be happy to share their version of events once they have presented them to the ministry,” he said.

“They [Xingfeng] do not want it to play out in the media like the ministry is enticing them to do. Be that as it may, the allegations against our client by the ministry are denied by our client and are without merit, and that will be demonstrated to the ministry at the appropriate forum.”

Massive mistake

Last year, Xingfeng’s export of raw lithium ore caused an uproar in Namibia, amid concerns about lack of value addition which could benefit the local economy.

Xingfeng, which through its lawyers fought back against plans to halt the exportation, said it will have to continue exporting every month for another three years to cover mining operations, create cash flow and allow its planned N$500 million lithium processing factory, with a desalination plant, to take off.

Speaking in parliament in November last year, Alweendo said officials from his ministry failed to stipulate how much lithium ore Xinfeng could export, and in the process gave it carte blanche to do what it wished.

The company was then given a pass to export as much as 135 000 tonnes of lithium ore from its mining site, although these exports are supposedly just for ‘testing’.

“The ministry officials responsible for the administration of export permits neglected to agree with the company as to the total quantity of ore that was needed to be exported for testing purposes,” Alweendo said at the time.