New leadership at Namibia’s Chamber of Mines champions green hydrogen linkages.

Namibia’s Chamber of Mines has announced Mr. George Botshiwe, who is current MD of QKR
Navachab Gold Mine as Second Vice President during the Special General Meeting held on 30 August
2022.
Botshiwe is a Mining Engineer by training and joined Navachab Gold Mine as a mining engineer in 2004. He was appointed as the youngest MD of Navachab Gold Mine in January 2018, tasked with
implementing a turnaround strategy to resolve the financially distressed Namibian mine. The
Navachab Gold Mine is an open-pit gold mine situated near Karibib, in the Erongo Region of
Namibia, and under Botshiwe and his team, appears to have weathered the storm with new
expansion projects underway
Botshiwe, who holds a Mining Engineering Honours Degree from the University of Zimbabwe, a Post
Graduate Mining Engineering degree from Wits University and an MBA from the London School of
Business and Finance, joins the Chamber executive led by Hilifa Mbako, Executive Chairperson of
Orano Mining Namibia (President), former MD of Zimbabwe’s Murowa Diamonds and current Vice
President & Managing Director, Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb, Zebra Kasete (First Vice President).
Speaking just before the Mining Expo & Conference held at the Windhoek Showgrounds, Chamber
CEO Veston Malango stated that Nambibia’s mining mining sector is involved in exploring new
frontiers such as using natural resources like gas or solar power to produce (green) hydrogen which
has applications in mining operations, for instance using hydrogen fuel cells to power haul trucks
and ammonium nitrate being a product from ammonia, has a wide application as a major
component for explosives (ANFO). “The Chamber is at the forefront of the discussion around a green
hydrogen industry in Namibia and linkages with other sectors of the economy and chairs one of the
Private Sector Green Hydrogen Working Groups,” explained Mr. Malango.
The Chamber’s Executive Committee’s term runs for the period 2022 – 2023.