The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) has suspended two officials for allegedly enabling the forging of documents linked to the sale of a N$50-million lithium entity.
MINISTER of mines and energy Tom Alweendo says his ministry's records show no proof of illegal activities being perpetrated by Chinese lithium miner Xinfeng Investment.
As firms from east and west scramble for hugely valuable lithium deposits, mining ministry officials are investigated for alleged bribe-taking, Lithium was the break-out commodity of 2022, with the price of this key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries soaring by 1,000% since 2020 to US$82,000 per tonne in December. Escalating demand as EV manufacturing expands will keep prices high.
Namibia has restored a Chinese company's lithium export permit despite an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption. Namibia's mining authority in October banned Xinfeng Investments from exporting lithium ore until the investigation by Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Commission was finished. The company is accused of buying a mining license from a man who had acquired it illegally while…