Namibia- Diamonds

Namibia is world-renowned for its gem quality placer diamonds that occur along the Orange River as well as, onshore and offshore along the coastline of Namibia. The Namibian diamonds were originally transported via the Orange River into the Atlantic Ocean and distributed northwards by long-shore currents. Diamonds typically occur as placers within raised and“drowned” beach terraces, gullies in the bedrock, and eluvial deposits in wind corridors within southern Namibia. As onshore diamond reserves are depleted, future diamond production will predominately come from the seabed. Mid-water to deep-water mining operations requires sophisticated marine vessels and crawlers that are capable of retrieving diamondiferous gravels/sands from the seafloor.

The major diamond producing company in Namibia is Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd, which accounts for an average of 1.6 million carats per annum. Other companies mining diamonds in Namibia include Sakawe Mining Corporation (Samincor) and Diamond Fields Namibia (Pty) Ltd.