Namibia will increase the production of sulfuric acid as vital mineral output increases

Namibia is going to make more sulphuric acid because the production of key minerals is going up. On Thursday, Green Metals Refining and Vedanta (VDAN.NS) announced plans to build new plants and bring old ones back to life.

Sulfuric acid is often used to get metals like uranium, copper, manganese, and rare earths that are needed in clean energy systems.

Namibia is the third-largest producer of uranium in the world. It is also becoming a leader in the green energy field, with eight active critical minerals projects that will put it at the forefront of global green energy efforts.

The London-based company Green Metals Refining wants to build a plant that will make 175,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid every year. They plan to spend $59 million on the first part of the plant.

The company said in a statement on Thursday that the plant’s annual output will slowly rise to 720,000 tons.

“As Namibia is a net importer of sulphuric acid with a large pipeline of acid-consuming projects, we have established a compelling business case that can benefit local third-party metals projects,” Derk Hartman, Green Metals Refining CEO, said.

The sulphuric acid plant will be part of the company’s planned manganese refinery in Walvis Bay, a port city. It will serve the uranium and copper mines in the country. By the end of 2027, both plants should be up and running.

This week, Vedanta said that it hopes to restart a sulphuric acid plant at its Skorpion zinc operations in four to six months. The plant will be able to make 1,000 tons of acid every day.

It hasn’t been used since 2020, when the mine was put on care and maintenance.