FOR over a century, Namibia has had a strong mineral foundation, starting with the discovery of diamonds in 1908. In the years thereafter, it has developed into the fourth largest exporter of non fuel minerals in Africa today.
This is led by its diamond production, which is the sixth largest in the world by value, uranium production, which is the fifth largest in the world, as well as production of gold, lead, zinc, tin, silver and tungsten.
Adding to the known on-shore and offshore resources to which Namibia's economy is largely pinned, is the possibility of oil reserves. For a number of years there has been interest and activity in prospecting for hydrocarbons, both on and offshore, in Namibian territory. The first prospect wells were drilled in the early 1960s and following a number of dry wells, the Kudu gas fields were discovered in 1974, confirming the presence of hydrocarbons in the geological structures off the Namibian coast. The presence of hydrocarbons further motivated companies to explore coal and oil prospects in the country. However, after 36 coal exploration wells produced negative results and several oil exploration wells were found to be dry, interest in Namibia as an oil frontier waned.