Namibia cannot continue to export minerals in raw form: minister

WINDHOEK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo on Thursday said the southwestern African nation cannot continue to export minerals in their basic raw form.

"We must insist that critical raw materials are not exported without value being added locally," Alweendo said at a stakeholder meeting in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. "We need to insist that processed minerals are used as inputs into locally manufactured goods, such as batteries, allowing us to export manufactured goods," he said.