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WINDHOEK, Namibia: Namibia has licensed its third uranium mine, giving the contract to French nuclear reactor builder Areva. Africa's second largest producer of the mineral granted Areva a mining license and environmental clearance certificates Wednesday for the Trekkopje Uranium Project.

Even as Australia reiterated its inability to sell uranium, India on Monday signed an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with Namibia. "Among agreements that we signed today is the cooperation between us on uranium. I believe that we have the best uranium (in the world)," said Namibian president Hifikepunye Pohamba after discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The pact is an umbrella agreement that includes sale of uranium to India. An MEA press release issued after signing of the agreement noted the "many opportunities for investment available in Namibia in the uranium, diamond, agriculture, energy, transportation, railways, mining, ICT and SME sectors and resolved to encourage Indian investments in these areas". Namibia's Uranium resources are about 5% of the world's known reserves.

"Russia is ready to invest $1 billion in uranium exploration in Namibia, Russia's state nuclear firm said on Thursday as it seeks to compete for projects with global miner Rio Tinto in the African country. "We're ready to start investing already this year," the head of state corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, told journalists. Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba was visiting Moscow to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Kiriyenko said the uranium extracted from Namibia could be used for a nuclear power plant Russia was building in Turkey."

The worldwide scramble for energy sources due to dwindling fossil fuel reserves has placed renewed emphasis on nuclear energy as solution for future needs. As a result, Namibia in south-western Africa is experiencing a uranium boom. With around 3,800 tons of annual production, Namibia is the world's sixth largest uranium producer. Its delivery of seven percent of world uranium production has led to the country being wooed by big powers that wish to secure supplies for their nuclear energy expansion plans. Spot prices doubled in 2007, reaching 136 dollars per pound but recently levelling at around 82 dollars a pound.

Propagators of the myth that nuclear power being safe, clean and climate friendly are misleading Namibians, according to Bertchen Kohrs of Earthlife Namibia. Few people are properly informed about the real dangers of the nuclear industry, she added. Earthlife Namibia has repeated its concern over the possibility that government might opt for nuclear power generation in Namibia. Kohrs said instead of opting for a nuclear power plant or coal-fired plant, the country could play a leading role in the development of renewable energy in Africa.

Namibian environmentalists warn expansion of uranium mining could devastate spectacular natural landscape The hidden cost of Britain's new generation of nuclear power could be the destruction of the Kalahari desert in Namibia and millions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gas emissions a year, the Observer has discovered. The desert, with its towering sand dunes and spectacular lunar-like landscapes, is at the centre of an international uranium rush led by Rössing Uranium, a subsidiary of the British mining giant Rio Tinto, and the French state-owned company, Areva, which part-manages the nuclear complex at Sellafield and wants to build others in Britain.

Namibian environmentalists warn expansion of uranium mining could devastate spectacular natural landscape The hidden cost of Britain's new generation of nuclear power could be the destruction of the Kalahari desert in Namibia and millions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gas emissions a year, the Observer has discovered. The desert, with its towering sand dunes and spectacular lunar-like landscapes, is at the centre of an international uranium rush led by Rössing Uranium, a subsidiary of the British mining giant Rio Tinto, and the French state-owned company, Areva, which part-manages the nuclear complex at Sellafield and wants to build others in Britain.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday called for boosting trade with Namibia, at the start of the first visit by a Kremlin chief to the uranium-rich southern African nation. "We should have started work with our African partners a long time ago," Medvedev told reporters after talks with his Namibian counterpart Hifikepunye Pohamba. The talks produced few major announcements, but Medvedev used the visit to highlight Russia's desire to reassert Moscow's influence on a continent where many countries were once under the Soviet sphere of influence. "Africa is waiting for our support. The civilised part of mankind, as it is accustomed to be called, should pay its debts to Africa," he said.

"Namibia's Chamber of Mines, which represents the mining industry in the southern African country, is concerned that power and water supply shortages and royalty tax legislation could hamper investment. Mike Leech, president of the industry body in one of the world's top uranium producers, said a royalty tax passed at the end of 2008 would "increase rather than reduce investor risk". "(The tax) is likely ... to make it harder for exploration companies to get projects past the credit committees of the banking institutions they will have to raise the money from," he said in an annual review the chamber published last week."

RIO Tinto is considering boosting output at its Rossing mine in Namibia by more than 60 per cent This would make it the world's second-biggest uranium producer. The news is an indication that uranium has not be included in recently announced plans to delay expansion. Speaking at the mine last week, Rossing managing director Mike Leech said the goal of growing to 5500 tonnes of uranium by 2012, outlined four months ago, would probably be raised in the first or second quarter of next year. The open pit mine in the Namib Desert will log production of more than 4000 tonnes of uranium in 2008, its best year since 1990. It is looking to build up to the plant's design capacity of 4500 tonnes by 2012.

A shortage of energy and water will cap future uranium mine expansion in Namibia, but the country hopes to ease the bottlenecks through desalination and a new coal-fired power plant, an industry body said on Wednesday. The government has issued some 50 exclusive prospecting licenses for more uranium mining firms, but output of uranium is dependent on the availability of water.

WINDHOEK, June 20 (Reuters) - French nuclear reactor maker Areva (CEPFi.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to build a $750 million mine in Namibia after it gets a mining licence, and construction could start as early as next month, a senior official said on Friday.

A Decision by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry to allow a planned new uranium mine in an arid area southwest of Usakos to use large quantities of underground water is being challenged in the High Court. The case questioning the Ministry's decision to grant water abstraction permits to Valencia Uranium was filed with the High Court on Thursday.

UNDER cover of night, a fleet of nondescript freighters sets sail protected by a naval escort. The only cargo aboard each vessel is a mysterious cylindrical capsule some 3 metres across and 12 metres long. Ordinarily, there would be nothing unusual about shipping goods from the US around the world, but these 500-tonne containers are no ordinary freight. The ships are carrying a new generation of self-contained nuclear power plants destined for countries such as Libya, Namibia and Indonesia - nations that the US government would not normally trust with the custody of nuclear material.

WINDHOEK, April 21 (Reuters) - Namibia's High Court has ruled as invalid permits allowing Forsys Metals Corp. (FSY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) to extract groundwater in the Namib Desert, disrupting the Canadian company's plans to construct a uranium mine. Forsys announced on Feb. 12 that Namibia's agriculture, water and forestry ministry had granted it permits to drill and extract up to 1,000 cubic litres of water per day for the construction of its Valencia mine. It said the perm