Namdeb ups tempo in quest for gems

AS diamonds become harder and harder to retrieve from the earth, Namdeb Diamond Corporation has embarked on a number of projects to get more of the precious gems that are the mainstay of Namibia’s economy.

A group of journalists was last week taken on a tour of the company’s base in the Sperrgebiet, situated in Namibia’s deep south along the Atlantic coast, to get an insight into operations being undertaken by the company which aims to produce 10 million carats and generate N$43 billion between 2006 and 2010. Last year, Namdeb sold over 2,174 million carats – up from 1,712 million recorded in 2005 – propelling diamond sales to N$5,23 billion.Namdeb – a equal joint venture between the Government and De Beers, also the world’s leading alluvial diamond-mining company – is facing challenges as land resources deplete.It has been forced to invest in newer technology, prospect in other parts of the country like the Kunene, Kavango and Caprivi (also searching for minerals and metals other than diamonds) and shift its focus to marine operations.The land resources are said to be fast declining and could be severely exhausted by 2020.Bearing this in mind, the company last year August implemented the Sida Ei !gus project to exploit the full potential of its land-based operations at Oranjemund, Pocket Beaches and Elizabeth Bay.The man behind the Sida project, Namdeb Group Human Resources Manager Percy McCallum, said the strategy emphasising work accountability was in place and should see the company having a “totally new structure across all sections” by August.He said challenges and incentives had been put to workers through this project, which aims to derive more for the company, its staff and the nation.”It’s a very exciting time for us, and this project has brought a new way of working and the biggest thing is to see our employees supporting us,” said McCallum.The project also looks at the proclamation of Oranjemund as a town to stimulate its development.The aim is to reach this target next year in line with a Cabinet resolution, although certain issues in this regard still need to be sorted out.Other projects include the orbit project at Elizabeth Bay, with a new liberation facility that was commissioned in 2005, and – more importantly – marine dredging and the Pocket Beaches 11 and 12 sites, which are at an advanced stage of construction.Marine dredging is dependent on heavy machinery, high-pressure hydraulics, high-volume pumping and extensive vessel manoeuvring.The equipment includes a “sea walker” – a machine on steel legs – which can walk into about 10 to 20 metres of water.Namdeb’s Assistant General Manager for Strategic Projects, Tjaart Willemse, said other projects in the pipeline included inshore and inner-shelf operations and beach accretion (as opposed to erosion) for more mini-mines.He said development work on these projects would be completed by year-end and they would start producing by 2009.Inshore operations should see 270 000 carats per year, said Willemse, while inner-shelf operations should churn out some 300 000 carats a year.Beach accretion is anticipated to produce between 200 000 and 300 000 carats per year.Namdeb General Manager Chris Sivertsen explained that his company’s operations were not encroaching on those of De Beers Marine Namibia but that the two companies were working in partnership.He also said it was vital that the nation understood that in spite of the land profile declining, Namdeb was gearing for the future to the benefit of both the company and the country.Last year, Namdeb sold over 2,174 million carats – up from 1,712 million recorded in 2005 – propelling diamond sales to N$5,23 billion.Namdeb – a equal joint venture between the Government and De Beers, also the world’s leading alluvial diamond-mining company – is facing challenges as land resources deplete.It has been forced to invest in newer technology, prospect in other parts of the country like the Kunene, Kavango and Caprivi (also searching for minerals and metals other than diamonds) and shift its focus to marine operations.The land resources are said to be fast declining and could be severely exhausted by 2020.Bearing this in mind, the company last year August implemented the Sida Ei !gus project to exploit the full potential of its land-based operations at Oranjemund, Pocket Beaches and Elizabeth Bay.The man behind the Sida project, Namdeb Group Human Resources Manager Percy McCallum, said the strategy emphasising work accountability was in place and should see the company having a “totally new structure across all sections” by August.He said challenges and incentives had been put to workers through this project, which aims to derive more for the company, its staff and the nation.”It’s a very exciting time for us, and this project has brought a new way of working and the biggest thing is to see our employees supporting us,” said McCallum.The project also looks at the proclamation of Oranjemund as a town to stimulate its development.The aim is to reach this target next year in line with a Cabinet resolution, although certain issues in this regard still need to be sorted out.Other projects include the orbit project at Elizabeth Bay, with a new liberation facility that was commissioned in 2005, and – more importantly – marine dredging and the Pocket Beaches 11 and 12 sites, which are at an advanced stage of construction.Marine dredging is dependent on heavy machinery, high-pressure hydraulics, high-volume pumping and extensive vessel manoeuvring.The equipment includes a “sea walker” – a machine on steel legs – which can walk into about 10 to 20 metres of water.Namdeb’s Assistant General Manager for Strategic Projects, Tjaart Willemse, said other projects in the pipeline included inshore and inner-shelf operations and beach accretion (as opposed to erosion) for more mini-mines.He said development work on these projects would be completed by year-end and they would start producing by 2009.Inshore operations should see 270 000 carats per year, said Willemse, while inner-shelf operations should churn out some 300 000 carats a year.Beach accretion is anticipated to produce between 200 000 and 300 000 carats per year.Namdeb General Manager Chris Sivertsen explained that his company’s operations were not encroaching on those of De Beers Marine Namibia but that the two companies were working in partnership.He also said it was vital that the nation understood that in spite of the land profile declining, Namdeb was gearing for the future to the benefit of both the company and the country.