Bannerman targets local jobs
Bannerman Energy is targeting Namibians to make up more than 80% of its workforce as it begins staged recruitment and workforce development ahead of operations at its Etango uranium project in the Erongo region.
The company has assessed the workforce and skills it will need over the next 12 to 18 months and is planning recruitment in stages as the project advances.
The planned recruitment will cover management, operational, technical, health and safety, environmental and support roles.
Bannerman has not disclosed how many permanent employees it expects to recruit under the plan. But its latest sustainability targets require more than four out of every five employees recruited to be Namibian.
The company said in its Sustainability Scorecard and Targets 2026/27, released on 17 August, that it would advance the workforce plan through staged recruitment and skills development ahead of future operations.
It has separately set a target to achieve a local recruitment rate of more than 80%.
The employment target comes as Etango's workforce is already expanding through contractors carrying out early construction work. However, the 80% target applies to Bannerman's employees and not the wider contractor workforce currently on site.
Contractor workforce exceeds 560
Bannerman reported in March that the Etango site had more than 560 contractor workers, up from more than 370 in December 2025.
The increase of at least 190 workers came as earthworks, concrete construction, engineering, procurement and infrastructure development progressed.
In March, Bannerman said bulk earthworks were about 66.5% complete, while 5,509 cubic metres of concrete had been poured under Phase 1 and Phase 2A contracts for the primary crusher, stockpile tunnel and fine ore silo.
Civil and mechanical design for the dry plant was about 93% complete, while the first phase of the permanent water supply pipeline was about 70% complete.
The latest workforce target points to another phase of employment beyond the contractors currently building the project, as Bannerman prepares the organisation that would eventually operate Etango.
During the past financial year, the company assessed the employees and skills it expects to need over the next 12 to 18 months as it prepares to move from project development towards operational readiness.
Bannerman said it was focusing on recruiting and onboarding key personnel in line with project milestones and its planned operational ramp-up.
It also plans to establish and implement a human resources information and payroll system during the 2027 financial year to support the expected growth in its workforce.
Recruitment linked to Etango progress
The recruitment programme remains linked to progress towards a final investment decision on Etango, with Bannerman continuing work on the project in preparation for a targeted positive FID.
The company said the 2026 financial year marked a significant stage in the project's development following its strategic joint venture agreement with CNNC Overseas and continued early construction work.
These developments have required Bannerman to expand its governance, management systems and organisational capacity ahead of full-scale construction.
Etango was granted its mining licence in December 2023. The project is initially designed to process eight million tonnes of ore a year and produce an average of about 3.5 million pounds of uranium oxide annually.
