Community and conservancy members at Uis in the Erongo Region are accusing Xinfeng Investments of illegal mining.
This follows an order from mining commissioner Isabella Chirchir for the Chinese company to cease operations on 16 November.
However, it has emerged that the company did not receive any official directive to stop mining, and instead of actual mining, staff were engaged in cleaning activities since the verbal order was issued in November.
Mining commissioner Isabella Chirchir visited the Xinfeng Investments site near Uis on 16 November 2024 and instructed them to stop mining.
Through a joint venture with a local company, Longfire, Xinfeng holds mining claims, a mining license, and a lithium processing plant at the site.
The company also possesses its own exploration license over a wider area.
Xinfeng has been seeking additional lithium deposits and has opened a pit about 10 kilometers from the main operations under that exploration license.
This is where Chirchir allegedly caught Xinfeng transporting raw materials to the main site without a mining license and instructed them to stop while the ministry investigates whether the company violated the law by using an exploration license for mining.
The community believes Xinfeng violated the commissioner's order as they discovered excavators operating in the open pit over the weekend.
Representatives from Xinfeng Investments stated that when the mining commissioner visited the site on 16 November, most senior employees were on leave, and she encountered only a few junior employees whom she instructed to cease operations.
The logistics manager added that when community members from Uis visited the mine over the weekend and discovered the excavators, Xinfeng was conducting a clean-up operation that began on Friday after a follow-up meeting with the mining commissioner the previous Wednesday and Thursday.
Mining commissioner Chirchir stated that the ministry is investigating the allegations and will not comment until the process is complete.
However, she noted that regardless of whether the order was given verbally or in writing, the instruction to halt operations remains valid.