Otto Shikongo, CEO of Debmarine.
Debmarine Namibia ‒ which is a 50-50 joint
venture between the government of Namibia
and De Beers Group ‒ operates six purpose-
fitted vessels that are designed to recover
diamonds off the Namibian coast in the Atlantic
Ocean’s Benguela Current Large Marine
Ecosystem (BCLME) ‒ an area that stretches
for approximately 3 500km.
Amid Debmarine Namibia having
produced around 1.4 million diamond carats
in 2018 alone, our unique recovery technology
has further ensured that the seabed is
largely restored to its natural state after our
operations move on.
These are notable feats and we believe
that there are three key messages that we
can offer the region when it comes to being
highly focused on issues of environmental
sustainability, local empowerment of
communities, and economic progression.
Mineral recovery can be
environmentally sustainable
First, it’s a common cause that mining on
land is typically not associated with being
environmentally friendly. While there have
been advances in technology in various
mining endeavours on the continent and
around the world, the reality is that it still has
a long way to go.
However, marine diamond recovery
makes every effort to ensure responsible
environmental stewardship.
Considering the size of the BCLME
ecosystem, Debmarine’s diamond recovery
affects a very small area (1.2%) of the
ecosystem and is deemed to be of low
significance at a regional scale.
Debmarine Namibia works at depths of
between 120-140m, and the unique IP on our
technology has ensured that up to 99% of the
sediment where we operate is discharged and
settles back to the seabed floor. The seabed
organisms are hardy and well-adapted to
the high natural variability and thus recover
rapidly after being disturbed.
Seabed recovery occurs naturally at a rate
dependent on available sediment, and we typically
see that functional recovery occurs within:
• Three years where abundant sediment
occurs (such as close to a river mouth);
www.miningmirror.co.za
Debmarine
Mine excursion
Another one of Debmarine’s vessels off the coast of Namibia.
• Three to 10 years in sparser sediment
areas; and
• Ten years in rocky terrain (or very low
sediment areas)
We have further made use of a seabed
monitoring programme guided by a committee
that includes independent scientists from
academia and industry.
Mineral recovery can be
empowering
When Debmarine Namibia started operations
in 2002, it was largely a foreign-owned
company whose workforce only consisted of
14% Namibians. Today our staff complement
consists of 86% Namibians, and almost half of
our shore-based staff are women.
Our employees are based all over Namibia
with representation in almost all 14 regions,
and we invest NAD100-million annually to
train our staff. In fact, 10% of our employees
are currently trainees.
We further invest approximately NAD9-
million per annum in various courses ranging
from education, health, security, sport through
the company social investment fund and
SME development through the Debmarine-
Namdeb Foundation.
Mineral recovery continues to be
economically relevant
Despite the economic growth challenges
that Namibia has experienced in recent years,
marine diamond recovery continues to be an
area of hope for our country’s current and
future financial prospects.
From 2014-2018, Debmarine Namibia
contributed NAD16.4-billion to the Namibian
economy in the form of dividends, royalties and
income tax. On top of this, our latest financial
results indicated that our revenue increased
11% to NAD8.9-billion while our underlying
EBITDA rose 6% to NAD4.6-billion.
This growth has been driven by factors that
include increased production and improved
consumer demand. We further continue to
invest in and develop our fleet of six vessels,
thereby creating tremendous local capacity for
technology research and development.
We operate the world’s biggest diamond
marine recovery vessel, and currently we are
in the first phase of designing the world’s next
largest diamond marine recovery vessel, which
we expect to have on the water in 2022.
Added to all of this, marine diamond
recovery represents the next evolution in
Namibia’s rich history.
Alluvial diamond mining on land on the
west coast of Namibia started over 110 years
ago, in 1908. Over time, many mines on
land have reached end-of-life while marine
diamond recovery is, relatively speaking, still at
its beginning stages.
A Debmarine Namibia ‘life of mine’ is
expected to be 31 years to 2050, meaning
there is much to gain economically in the
years to come.
We are committed to continuing our
investment in the marine diamond recovery
space in Namibia while continuously fine-
tuning our operations to best benefit the
Namibian people as well as safeguarding the
environment.
We believe that the lessons that we have
learnt are relevant to the Southern African
region and the world. These developments can
help further advance our nations and their
economies.
About Debmarine Namibia
Debmarine Namibia is Namibia’s leading
marine diamond mining company and is a
recognised world leader in marine diamond
exploration and mining technology.
Debmarine Namibia is a joint venture
marine diamond prospecting and mining
company, owned in equal shares by the
Government of the Republic of Namibia
and De Beers. Debmarine Namibia is
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Namdeb
Holdings (Pty) Ltd.
AUGUST 2019 MINING MIRROR [15]