Vedanta makes Skorpion reopening conditional on affordable power
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Windhoek Observer
Illustrative image · Petra Nesti · Pexels · Licence PexelsThe reopening of Namibia’s Skorpion zinc mine depends on securing an affordable long-term electricity supply, its owner Vedanta Zinc International said. The site, near Rosh Pinah, has been shut since 2020 and its refinery has a nominal capacity of about 150,000 tonnes, according to the Windhoek Observer.
Vedanta Zinc International (VZI), a subsidiary of mining group Vedanta, has kept the Skorpion zinc mine and refinery under care and maintenance since 2020 and is continuing the technical, commercial and infrastructure work needed for a sustainable restart. The company said securing an affordable long-term electricity supply remained the determining condition for deciding on a restart, according to Windhoek Observer.
The Skorpion refinery, located 25 kilometres north of Rosh Pinah in the //Karas Region, has a nominal capacity of about 150,000 tonnes of SHG zinc per year. VZI said several options were being studied to support the future growth of the operation, but that its future operating model would depend on establishing a sustainable electricity solution and the associated infrastructure, Windhoek Observer reports.
Skorpion’s prospects come as Vedanta is simultaneously developing the Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa. Phase II, completed in July 2026, added a second concentrator and increased Gamsberg’s annual capacity to about 500,000 tonnes, nearly double its previous production. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officially inaugurated the R10 billion expansion on 16 October, according to Windhoek Observer.
Phase II of Gamsberg is expected to create between 800 and 1,000 operational jobs after more than 1,500 people were employed at the peak of construction. Vedanta says it has invested R89 billion in its South African operations and projects since 2011 and also plans a zinc smelter in the Namakwa special economic zone. The announcement comes after Cyril Ramaphosa’s support for Vedanta’s zinc smelter project on 19 October, presented in Vedanta’s zinc smelter project.
