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Russia’s Rosatom is awaiting the Namibian government to approve a uranium mining project with a decision expected shortly, according to Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s CEO. He said that the company had been working for several years to enter Namibia’s uranium industry.
Likachev said that “Very active negotiations have been underway since the beginning of this year on launching a major uranium project in the Omaheke Region of Namibia. All the necessary assessments have been completed, and the conclusions have been submitted directly to Namibia’s leadership. We expect a positive decision to be made within the next few months, allowing us to enter Namibia with a specific project ready for implementation. Namibia is a very active player in the global natural uranium market. By various estimates it has ranked among the world’s top three to five uranium-producing countries.”
Frednard Gideon, Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia (UNAM) has previously stated at the 2025 ‘Russia-Africa: Nuclear Education – Potential for Successful Regional Development’ forum in Moscow that “Namibia is the world’s fourth-largest producer of uranium. We started mining it in 1976. Uranium is produced, but it is immediately exported. Many foreigners come to Africa and take everything. Russia is a reliable and equal partner. That is why we are interested in cooperation.”
Namibia is advancing a national nuclear energy programme to turn its vast uranium resources into domestic electricity, reduce reliance on power imports from neighbors like South Africa, and drive industrialization.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and the cabinet have pushed forward a national nuclear energy policy and strategic framework backed by dedicated legislation. This shifts Namibia from merely exporting raw uranium to in-country value addition and beneficiation.
The domestic power utility company NamPower is actively evaluating small modular reactor (SMR) technology – specifically examining units around 120 MW to provide stable baseload power. Under the 6th National Development Plan (NDP6), the government targets substantial investments into nuclear energy, uranium processing, and related infrastructure through 2030.
