Tunis:The mining sector in Namibia encountered ongoing production challenges in 2026, even as monthly output showed signs of recovery and international prices for key minerals strengthened, According to Chamber of Mines of Namibia.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the chamber's August 2026 mining update highlighted that mining and quarrying contracted by 3.1% year-on-year in real terms during the second quarter, improving from a 7.1% contraction in the first quarter. Despite this improvement, the sector was the largest negative contributor to economic growth, while the overall economy grew by 4.8% in the same period.

The contraction was primarily due to declines in uranium and metal ores, which fell by 12% and 20.1%, respectively. Diamond mining experienced a marginal decline of 0.2%, whereas other mining and quarrying activities grew by 12.9%, driven by increased granite and marble production.

July's production figures indicated improvement, with the Mining Composite Production Index rising by 7.7% month-on-month to 138 points and increasing by 2.3% year-on-year, marking the first annual expansion since December 2025. Uranium production surged by 81.4% month-on-month to 878 tonnes after maintenance at the Husab mine, and zinc production increased by 54.8% to 5,658 tonnes. In contrast, diamond production fell by 4.2% month-on-month to 190,161 carats, though it remained 7.8% higher than in July 2025. Gold bullion production decreased by 8.2% to 557 kilograms, reflecting a shift from open-pit to underground mining operations.

The chamber reported that stronger commodity prices continued to benefit the sector. In August, gold prices averaged US$4,411 per troy ounce, an 8% increase from July, while copper reached a record monthly average of US$14,326 per metric tonne. Uranium prices averaged US$86 per pound, and tin hit a record US$55,385 per metric tonne.

Despite favorable prices, the chamber expressed concerns over rising operating costs, predicting subdued production for the remainder of 2026. Higher fuel and transport costs are expected to continue affecting mining profitability.