The Chamber of Mines of Namibia's Chief Executive Officer, Fabian Shaanika, has launched the 13th Mining Expo and Conference, set to take place from the 4th to the 6th of August in Windhoek.

Shaanika says the mining sector remains committed to supporting Namibia's economic development by driving investment, creating employment opportunities and promoting collaboration between government and all stakeholders.

Shaanika says the industry has identified the potential to unlock more than $2.6 billion in investment and create approximately 18,000 jobs over five years through increased exploration, mine expansion projects and development of new mining operations.

"So we are into the tail end of the year one of the journey, and again, the very specifics to our commitment are anchored around a few developments. One is we have exploration as part of our value chain; we think there will be increased activity and increased that will come associated with revenues as well as associated with additional jobs."

He has revealed that this year's expo has attracted more exhibitors than previous editions, with registrations exceeding 200 exhibitors and demand for exhibition space continuing to grow as companies seek to showcase more products and services.

Shaanika also emphasised that this year's event will focus on how the mining sector drives economic growth, creates jobs and improves safety in the industry.

Various stakeholders and governments are represented; the private sector is well represented, and civil society is well represented. So it's getting all those players into one place and actually having a very coordinated approach as to addressing some of the national priorities."