| Namdeb plans two new projects to increase production |
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| Written by Staff Reporters | |
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Namdeb, the country’s leading diamond producer, is planning two new projects to further expand its diamond production. The two projects currently entering the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies are the Inshore Project and the Inner Shelf Project.
Namdeb said the Inshore Project will investigate the use
of innovative mining technologies to sample and mine the liner beach
areas of Mining Area 1, which has until recently been deemed unmineable
due to it being extremely exposed to the ocean wave action.
The Inner Shelf Project is meant to investigate alternative production options in the shallow and mid water portions of Namdeb’s mining licence areas. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) meetings will be held in Lüderitz on 9 July and in Orajemund on 10 July. Namdeb holds nine diamond mining licences covering both land and sea areas on and adjacent to the southern coast of Namibia. Namdeb’s projected production plan indicates a significant decrease in land production from 2009, as onshore resources near depletion. The two projects are part of plans by Namdeb to extend the life of mine and boost production figures in its licence areas. Namdeb’s Mining Area No.1, Bogenfels and Elizabeth Bay Mining Licences extend from the Orange River in the south to Lüderitz in the north, and approximately 5.5 kilometres off shore in the Atlantic Ocean to approximately 20 to 35 kilometres inland. Douglas Bay Mining Licence extends from Lüderitz north to latitude 26 degrees south and from the high water mark of the Atlantic Ocean to about 15 kilometres inland. The Orange River Mining Licence extends along the Orange River for about 50 kilometres inland from the Mining Area No.1 boundary. Atlantic 1 Mining Licence occupies a portion of the middle shelf of the South Atlantic Ocean, from the boundary of Mining Area No.1 to about 65 kilometres from the shore. The bulk of Namdeb’s production comes from the Mining Area No.1 and Atlantic 1 licences. In the latter area, De Beers Marine Namibia explores and recovers diamonds from beneath the sea off the Namibian coast. |
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