CNNC cleared for Etango uranium joint venture
China's state-owned nuclear giant has secured regulatory approval to enter Namibia's Etango uranium project through a joint venture with Bannerman Energy, deepening Beijing's footprint in the country's uranium sector.
The Namibia Competition Commission approved with conditions a joint venture between CNNC Overseas Limited and Bannerman Energy (UK) Limited to develop and commercialise the Etango project.
Under the deal, CNNC Overseas will acquire a minority shareholding and joint control of Bannerman Energy (UK), which holds a controlling interest in Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia, the owner of the project.
Etango, located near Swakopmund in the Erongo region, is one of Namibia's largest undeveloped uranium deposits and is still in the development phase.
CNNC Overseas Limited is incorporated in Hong Kong and forms part of China's state-controlled nuclear industry. It is controlled by China National Uranium Corporation, which falls under China National Nuclear Corporation — one of China's largest state-owned enterprises — itself wholly owned by the Chinese government's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
In Namibia, the CNNC group already controls several uranium-related assets, including Zhonghe Resources Namibia Development and China Nuclear Engineering Corporation Namibia. Its subsidiary CNUC Namibia Mining Limited holds a controlling stake in Rössing Uranium, one of the world's longest-operating uranium mines.
Globally, the group's activities span nuclear power generation, nuclear fuel production, uranium exploration and mining, nuclear technology applications, and construction.
Bannerman Energy (UK) controls both Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia and Bannerman Investments Namibia. Through these entities, the Bannerman group also has an interest in the Cooperative Bulk Handling Terminal, a planned acid-handling facility at Walvis Bay still under development.
The commission classified the deal as a horizontal merger, defining the relevant market as the global mining, production and sale of uranium. It found the transaction was unlikely to lessen competition or strengthen market dominance substantially.
However, the regulator said the deal raised significant public-interest considerations, including its potential impact on investment, job creation, skills transfer, and future uranium production in Namibia.
As a result, the merger was approved subject to conditions designed to ensure that the project delivers tangible benefits to Namibians. These include commitments linked to workforce localisation, skills development, and increased participation by local suppliers, small and medium enterprises, and historically disadvantaged persons within the Etango project value chain.
The approval comes as Namibia's uranium sector experiences renewed international interest, with rising global demand for nuclear fuel driving countries towards nuclear energy as part of long-term energy security and decarbonisation strategies.
Etango has long been considered one of Namibia's most strategically significant future uranium mines. Bannerman Energy has been advancing financing, engineering, and development work to bring the project into production.
