Name of the Project
Sandpiper marine phosphate project.

Location
The project tenements lie in waters about 60 km off the coast of, and 120 km south-west of, Walvis Bay, in Namibia, and the granted mining licence (ML170) covers about 2 233 km2 in water depths of 180 m to 300 m.

Project Owner/s
Namibian Marine Phosphate (NMP) is a joint venture company owned by Mawarid Mining (85%), an Omani registered entity, and Havana Investments (15%), a Namibian registered entity.

Project Description
The project has total Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserves of 132.76-million tons grading 20.41% phosphorous pentoxide and mineral resources of 1.69-billion tons grading 18.94% phosphorous pentoxide.

A 2013 definitive feasibility study (DFS) confirmed Sandpiper as technically and economically feasible, and envisages steady-state production of three-million tons a year of phosphate rock concentrate product (rock phosphate) grading 27.5% to 28% phosphorous pentoxide over an initial mine life of 20 years, including a two-year ramp-up period.

Seafloor sediments will be dredged with a large-capacity trailing suction hopper dredge using current technology, contracted and operated by an international dredging company.

New technology is now available to enhance project operations and monitoring. In terms of dredging equipment, autonomous and remote-controlled underwater vehicles can be used to assist in positioning ships and to obtain environmental monitoring information over long periods without the need for expensive support vessels.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create 400 to 500 jobs in the construction phase and 150 to 200 jobs when in operation. A number of indirect jobs and services will be required, which will be in addition to the above.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of N$4.9-billion ($329-million) and an internal rate of return of 23.6%.

Capital Expenditure
Capital costs to first production for a three-million-tonne-a-year operation are estimated at N$5.4-billion ($362.7-million), according to the DFS.

Planned Start/End Date
Following a final investment decision and securing financing for the project, the estimated construction and commissioning period is 24 months.

Latest Developments
NMP has reported that the handing down of the judgment in a court case challenging the legitimacy of its Sandpiper mining licence (ML170) has been postponed until June 30.

The court application has been launched by the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations and three other parties.

NMP states that the reason offered to it by the courts for the latest postponement is that judgment is not ready, owing to Covid-19 implications.

An initial hearing was held in July 2020 and the court case has since been postponed from March 8 to April 12, and then to June 16.

In a statement, NMP says it has full confidence in the Namibian legal system and that the company remains confident of a positive outcome.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Jan De Nul (dredging operations); Tenova Bateman (process engineering) and local Namibian contractors and service suppliers.

Contact Details for Project Information
NMP, tel +264 64 278150 or email info@namphos.com.