Today, Honorable Dr Hage Geingob, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Mrs. Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of AREVA, inaugurated the very first sea water desalination plant in Namibia, located 30 km north of Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast.
The inauguration function marks the beginning of potable water production at the plant. It is a major milestone in the mining project that AREVA is developing in Namibia: through state of the art technology, the plant will produce 20 million m3 of potable water per annum, which is enough to allow AREVA to operate the Trekkopje mine without pumping any water from the soil. Excess production will serve the local communities and industrial activities. As such, the desalination plant is a concrete illustration of the group’s commitment to social and environ-mental responsibility.
After the function, Anne Lauvergeon declared: “I am honored that Dr Hage Gein-gob accepted to inaugurate the desalination plant AREVA built in Namibia. It shows the country’s trust in AREVA’s expertise and I have no doubt that our sound partnership will go far beyond uranium mining.”
Dr Hage Geingob also reaffirmed Namibia’s commitment to develop its national energy program and to ensure that the uranium mining industry will benefit as much as possible to all Namibians while preserving the environment.
The Trekkopje mining project remains the largest direct foreign investment ever made in Namibia and a particularly strategic project for the AREVA group. With a forecasted average annual production of 3,000 tons of uranium, the Trekkopje mine will bring a significant contribution to the group’s uranium mining activity. By doing so, it will serve AREVA’s commitment to guarantee its customers’ security of supply.