NAMIBIA · MINING
Vedanta Zinc International (VZI), the southern African zinc business of India’s Vedanta Limited mining group, has tied a restart of Namibia’s Skorpion zinc mine and refinery to affordable power. The site near Rosh Pinah, a mining town in the //Karas Region of southern Namibia, has been idle since 1 May 2020 in a paused state called care and maintenance, which is meant to allow a later restart.
A Namibian business report published this week says VZI repeated that securing long-term power is its immediate priority, a statement we could not confirm on VZI’s own pages. For US readers, the question is whether a second Vedanta zinc site returns while Gamsberg, its mine in South Africa, has just doubled its ore capacity.
Key Facts
- Condition. VZI said in 2021 that power availability and affordability is the most significant factor for the project.
- Status. Skorpion has been in care and maintenance since 1 May 2020.
- Size. VZI’s 2021 release puts the refinery’s capacity at 150,000 tonnes of zinc a year.
- 2021 plan. A refinery conversion budgeted at 6.5 billion Namibia dollars (N$6.5 billion, US$393 million), with about 2,000 jobs projected.
- Open. We found no firm restart date, power price or power supplier.
US dollar values use about 16.53 Namibia dollars per US dollar, the rate on 11 November 2026, including for the 2021 figure. VZI’s 2021 budget was worth more in US dollars at that year’s exchange rate.
What Vedanta Has Said
In its update of 28 May 2021, VZI said that availability and affordability of power is the most significant factor for the project and that it was negotiating power supply with the government and other parties. It added that it was ready to begin work once power is secured in a timely manner.
The report says VZI described Skorpion as still on care and maintenance while it advances technical, commercial and infrastructure work. It also says VZI declined to give expansion details and called it too early to say whether zinc material will keep being shipped from South Africa for refining; this is reported, not confirmed by us.
Skorpion is an open-pit zinc mine with a refinery about 25 km north of Rosh Pinah. VZI’s 2021 release gives the refinery’s capacity as 150,000 tonnes of zinc a year, with a plan to expand it to 300,000 tonnes.
Why Power Decides the Restart
VZI’s plan is a N$6.5 billion (US$393 million) refinery conversion that would let the plant treat sulphide and oxide ores, two different types of zinc ore. VZI put the jobs at about 2,000 in 2021, and its website now speaks of about 1,300 direct jobs.
VZI’s website says Vedanta acquired the mine in 2010, and its 2021 release says it has invested more than US$1.4 billion since acquisition. The mine was originally due to end in 2015, and a project called Pit 112 extended mining to 2020.
VZI said in 2021 that unforeseen instability in the pit walls caused stoppages and delays, and that mining of the remaining ore would resume only once the refinery conversion project is executed. It commissioned SRK Consultants, a geotechnical consultancy, to study how to mine that ore safely.
Gamsberg Shows Where Vedanta Is Spending
In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa opened Vedanta’s Gamsberg Phase II concentrator plant at Aggeneys, a mining town in the Northern Cape, on Friday 16 October 2026. The South African government says the plant doubles ore capacity from about 4 million to 8 million tonnes a year and lifts zinc in concentrate (ore crushed and processed into a zinc-rich powder) to about 500,000 tonnes.
The government says more than 1,500 people worked on construction and 800 to 1,000 jobs are expected in operation. Gamsberg’s 500,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate is more than three times Skorpion’s 150,000 tonnes of refined metal, though the two figures measure different products.
Our earlier report covers Ramaphosa’s backing for a zinc smelter. Zinc prices are tracked in our zinc market report.
What It Means for You
Zinc coats steel to stop rust, so new supply matters to builders and carmakers, but Skorpion would add only a modest tonnage next to Gamsberg. Investors who follow Vedanta’s zinc business should read the power condition as a hurdle, not a commitment, because no power price has been made public.
What Is Not Known
VZI has not named a power supplier, a power price, a firm restart date or the investment it would make today, and its 2021 figures may be out of date. We also found no current public statement from NamPower, Namibia’s state power utility, on a supply deal for Skorpion.
Further reporting is on our Namibia news page. It carries our daily coverage of the country.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the Skorpion zinc mine restart?
No date has been given. Vedanta Zinc International has said a restart depends on affordable power.
Why is Skorpion closed?
Vedanta extended the mine’s life to 2020, but unstable ground in the pit caused delays. The site has been on care and maintenance since 1 May 2020.
Where is Skorpion zinc mine?
It lies about 25 km north of Rosh Pinah in the //Karas Region, in southern Namibia. The refinery is rated at 150,000 tonnes of zinc a year.
Sources
Vedanta Zinc International, update on the status of Skorpion Zinc, 28 May 2021 · Vedanta Zinc International, Skorpion Zinc page · South African government, Gamsberg Phase II opening, October 2026
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