NAMIBIA’S gold industry is entering a defining period. Between now and 2030, billions of dollars in investment, several major discoveries and a fresh government strategy are expected to reshape the country’s mining landscape — and with it, its economy.
That’s the assessment of Andreas Salom, acting senior manager for investment analysis and development at the Namibia Investment Promotion & Development Board.
Salom acknowledges that gold output may dip slightly in 2026, as open-pit mining winds down at B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine in the Otjozondjupa region about 300km north of Windhoek. It sits near the towns of Otjiwarongo and Otavi and takes its name from the nearby Lake Otjikoto, a well-known sinkhole lake in the area.
Open pit mining at Otjikoto was completed in October 2025, marking the end of a significant chapter in the mine’s history. In February 2026, B2Gold achieved another major milestone with the first blast at the Antelope underground project. The company’s investment in the Antelope underground deposit has extended Otjikoto’s life of mine to 2032, reinforcing B2Gold’s long-term commitment to responsible mining and sustainable value creation in Namibia.
But Salom is optimistic about what comes next. “New projects such as Twin Hills, the expansion of underground mining and continued exploration activity could position Namibia with a larger, more diversified and more resilient gold industry by the end of the decade,” he says.
The Twin Hills project is in central Namibia, about 15km outside the town of Karibib on the road to Omaruru, roughly 150km northwest of Windhoek. The optimism in Twin Hills is backed by a shift in government thinking. Gold, uranium and critical minerals now sit at the heart of Namibia’s investment strategy, with gold elevated from a simple export commodity to what Salom calls “a strategic national asset”.
Few projects capture this momentum better than WIA Gold’s Kokoseb discovery, which has become one of Africa’s most talked-about gold finds. The project’s history is a study in speed: first identified in 2021, it delivered a maiden resource estimate of 1.3-million ounces by 2023, then grew to nearly 2.93-million ounces by 2025.
WIA Gold — an Australian Securities Exchange-listed company that started life as Tanga Resources — now holds an 80% stake in Kokoseb, with Namibia’s state-run Epangelo Mining Company owning the remainder. The project is near Okombahe in the Erongo region, within Namibia’s mineral-rich Damara gold belt, where WIA first established a foothold by acquiring exploration licences.
Leadership brings a mix of local and international experience. Henk Diederichs, a Stellenbosch University alumnus with two decades in African mining, took over as CEO in 2026. Country manager Keith Webb, a Scot who has called Namibia home since 2006, provides on-the-ground continuity. And among the project’s founders is Josef El-Raghy, an Australian mining and finance executive whose track record includes helping finance and develop the Sukari mine in Egypt — now a 500,000oz a year producer — during his time at Centamin.
The numbers behind Kokoseb are substantial. A September 2025 scoping study put a price tag of $358.8m on an open-pit mine and carbon-in-leach processing plant capable of handling more than 5Mt of ore annually. Production is projected to start strong, at around 177,000oz a year for the first five years, before settling to an average of 146,000oz annually across an expected 11-year mine life — totalling roughly 1.83-million ounces.
Investors are clearly convinced: the company recently raised A$92m to speed up drilling, technical studies and overall project development, taking advantage of rising gold prices. A final investment decision is expected in August.
The Twin Hills project represents another major piece of Namibia’s gold future. It traces its roots to an exploration programme led by Osino Resources co-founder and former CEO Heye Daun. When Shanjin International Gold Co Ltd acquired Osino Resources in 2024, ownership shifted fully to the Chinese mining group, though the original Namibian team continues to lead development on site.
Once up and running, Twin Hills is expected to become Namibia’s third major commercial gold mine, creating around 1,000 construction jobs and roughly 800 permanent positions once operational.
While the newer projects grab headlines, Namibia’s most established gold producer, the Navachab gold mine, is making its own quiet bet on the future — a N$4bn underground expansion designed to extend the mine’s working life. Navachab holds proven reserves of 2.43-million ounces and a total resource base of 5.16-million ounces.
The mine’s growth has also translated into jobs and local economic impact. Its workforce has grown from fewer than 500 employees in 2020 to 889 permanent staff and 598 contractors by 2025.
This article first appeared in the Financial Mail.
