Chinese-invested uranium mine exceeds budgeted production targets in 2021

WINDHOEK, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Rossing Uranium, a Chinese-invested company in Namibia, exceeded budgeted production targets by a significant margin, as the 2,882 tonnes of U3O8 produced during 2021 represented a 16 percent increase compared to 2020, the company's managing director Johan Coetzee said.

To produce the product, the miner had to mine 20.7 million tonnes of rock and process 9.6 million tonnes of ore, Coetzee said at the 2021 annual stakeholder report launch on Wednesday evening.

"We were able to achieve this excellent performance safely and efficiently through the commitment and hard work of our own employees, as well as the support from the contractors that are delivering services to us," he added.

According to Coetzee, Rossing Uranium currently sells a portion of its product into an existing long-term contract portfolio, and the remaining available production was sold to the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Group.

"In 2021, 76 percent sales volume was delivered to Asia, of which 90 percent has been sold to the majority shareholder CNUC/CNNC. The remaining 26 percent sales volume was delivered under the long-term contract portfolio to North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa," he added.

Coetzee said at the end of December 2021, Rossing had a total of 943 permanent employees, 99 percent of them being Namibians.

"The company boasts a 20 percent representation of women in its workforce, who are represented across all levels of the organization," he concluded.