Navachab delivers over 300kg gold to central bank

Navachab Gold Mine has delivered more than 300kg of gold to the Bank of Namibia (BON) since signing a gold purchase agreement in March, and expects total deliveries to reach about 600kg by the end of the year.

Navachab managing director George Botshiwe says the mine will continue supplying gold to the central bank during the remainder of the year as the BoN builds up its domestic gold holdings.

“Since we signed the contract with the Bank of Namibia, we have delivered just over 300kg. I think their target is 600kg, so we are still going to deliver more gold to them until the end of the year.

“I think by then they would have reached their target of around 600kg they want to purchase from us,” he says.

The BoN signed the gold purchase agreement with QKR Namibia Navachab Gold Mine on 24 March as part of its programme to build gold holdings to around 3% of Namibia’s net foreign exchange reserves.

The agreement provides for structured purchases of locally produced gold and forms part of the central bank’s strategy to diversify its foreign exchange reserves.

The central bank is implementing the first phase of the programme through monthly purchases from local mines, with transactions conducted in Namibia dollar.

The central bank has indicated it intends to source gold from multiple domestic producers, although a similar supply arrangement with B2Gold remains outstanding.

Namibia, however, does not currently have refining capacity capable of processing locally produced gold to the international standard required for reserve assets.

Local mines produce gold at about 85% purity, requiring further refining to 99.9% before it can be held as a reserve asset.

The BoN has initiated engagements with refineries in South Africa to process the locally acquired gold.

The gold acquisition programme is being implemented in phases, with purchases guided by market conditions and supported by governance and risk-management frameworks.

BoN deputy governor Nicholas Mukasa recently told The Brief the central bank would review the programme in the first quarter of 2027 after reaching its initial 3% target.

The review will determine whether the central bank proceeds with a second phase and increases the share of gold in Namibia’s international reserves beyond the initial target.

Mukasa said any decision on the size and scope of a second phase will only be taken once the BoN has assessed the outcome of the current programme and achieved the 3% target.

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