Swakop Uranium's Husab Project, formerly known as Rössing South, this past week briefed prospective and interested local contractors and sub-contractors about the mine's construction plans.

The Husab project will become the biggest uranium mine in Namibia, and according to Swakop Uranium CEO Norman Green, "it is a world class deposit, and could turn out to be the largest uranium deposit in the world". Fifteen million pounds per annum of uranium oxide is expected to be produced over the mine's projected 20 year lifespan, with export value of about N$5 billion per year. Production is set to start in 2014, and the time has come for potential Namibian equipment and service suppliers to be informed and picked on merits of prices, quality, experience and output to participate in the mine's construction and operations.

Quotations in response to enquiries currently in the market are to be used for the compilation of capital and operating cost estimates as part of a Definitive Feasibility Study in progress.

Two suppliers' information meetings were held in Swakopmund and Windhoek this week where keen local participation to this gigantic project was visible.

"We are aiming to maximize Namibian content because it is a mine in Namibia," Green said.

Many service suppliers who have vast experience in the local mining industry attended the meeting, but the competition will be tough, and fears are that Namibian suppliers might not meet the standards set by the mine due to the size of it. Major needs involve labour, sub contracting, supplies and support packages.

It was made clear however, that large South African construction companies with Namibian operations would likely be responsible for major construction contracts during construction phase, which will take place over about three years, starting next year. Up to 4 000 temporary construction jobs and 1 200 permanent jobs could be created.

Local service providers were requested to submit company profiles and track records, which will be entered into a data-base for further evaluation and future consultation. Part of the feasibility study is to establish accurate cost estimates in order to ensure funding.

One of the issues that was brought up during the meeting, regarding service providers (not so much labourers), was that there had always been "excuses" from large mining companies that Namibians "cannot provide services on time".

Green said that quality and time were very important in such projects and that "if companies cannot meet the requirements, then we cannot use them".

"But we would like to use as many Namibians as possible. They need to provide us with competitive prices, quality, and a proven track record, because we cannot take the risk of suppliers failing, with the domino effect this has on a project of this nature," he said. "We require performance guarantees, and include penalties for non performance, and for large contracts, these can be substantial".

An argument put to Green was that Namibia is losing ground because large foreign contractors brought in standards that Namibia has not reached, and therefore Namibian companies are excluded.

"There should be encouragement for Namibians. We are worried that Namibians don't get the job because of the differences in standard," said Swakopmund's NCCI Chairperson, Pam Miller.

Green agreed on encouraging Namibians, but pointed out that various international standards have to be adhered to in order to secure funding, and that even buyers require products from suppliers who can demonstrate compliance with international standards.

"However, I am sure that the right local companies can comply and we will assist them in this regard," he said.

A public tender process will not be followed. Those companies who have submitted the relevant information, and who have been included on the bidders list, will be requested to submit tenders.

"First-timers should maybe also talk to the Namibian operations of large construction companies," Green said.