Swakop Uranium and Angola’s state-owned oil company, Sonangol, are working together to identify potential uranium exploration targets in Angola, with the aim of completing the target identification process by the end of 2026.

According to a press release from Angola’s Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, Minister Diamantino Azevedo met Swakop Uranium president Luo Wei, to review progress on uranium prospecting activities in the country. The meeting focused on a development agreement between Swakop Uranium and Sonangol, with the Geological Institute of Angola (IGEO) collaborating on the work. Swakop Uranium’s chief executive officer, Luo Wei, was accompanied by executive vice-president Irvinne Simataa.

In its statement, the Angolan government said the meeting also provided an opportunity to review progress following commitments made during a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, in February this year, on the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba. At that meeting, the parties committed to identifying potential uranium exploration targets before the end of 2026. Speaking after Tuesday’s meeting, Simataa highlighted Angola’s potential and the company’s willingness to contribute to developing the country’s mineral resources. “There is enormous potential in this country, and our company, in partnership with Sonangol, is ready to help Angola realise these prospects,” he said, according to the Angolan government’s press release.

The current work focuses on prospecting and identifying potential exploration targets. The agreement does not, at this stage, establish that commercially viable uranium deposits have been discovered. Swakop Uranium operates Namibia’s Husab Mine, one of the country’s major uranium operations. According to the Angolan government, the company is 90% owned by Taurus Minerals Limited, a joint venture involving China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and the China-Africa Development Fund. The remaining 10% is held by the Namibian state through the state-owned Epangelo Mining Company.

The latest discussions highlight Swakop Uranium’s involvement in uranium prospecting beyond Namibia as the company and its partners work towards identifying potential exploration opportunities in Angola.

Source: Angola’s Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, with additional company information supplied by Swakop Uranium.

By Eileen van der Schyff