Namibian Marine Diamond Miner Reports Drop in Production as Demand Slumps
Debmarine Namibia, a subsidiary of Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers, on Monday reported a 13% drop in production to 1.125 million carats last year as demand slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic.Namibia has the richest known marine diamond deposits in the world, and is among the top 10 producers of gem-quality diamonds globally. Production, however, has been severely hampered by weak demand on the international market.Debmarine's revenue fell 5% to 6.6 billion Namibian dollars ($427 million), the company said.
Namdock is Back to Business
Namibian ship repair company Namdock has resumed full operations with effect from Tuesday, in accordance with the inception of stage 2 of Namibiaâs national COVID-19 lockdown, which has seen the partial easing of restrictive measures thanks to the recent flattening of the minimal in-country infection curve.âOver the past few weeks we have put strict personal protection and sanitization measures in place, to ensure that we could safely resume full-capacity operations when the time came.
Sea Shepherd, Namibia Fight Fisheries Crime
The Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) compliance officials and Sea Shepherd, onboard the Ocean Warrior, have jointly carried out successful surveillance activities in Namibia`s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), effectively causing illegal factory trawlers to abandon the Skeleton Coast.The main objective of these joint patrols was to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Namibian waters. These initiatives assisted the MFMR and other Namibian law enforcement agencies to force illegal and foreign industrial factory trawlers out of the Namibian EEZ suspected to have targeted horse mackerel stocks through IUU activities.Large foreign industrial factory trawlers â former Soviet Union made trawlers - have been âborder hopping`âŚ
New Gensets for De Beersâ Diamond Mining Vessel
Wärtsilä and De Beers Marine have signed an agreement for the replacement of generating sets aboard De Beersâ diamond mining ship Debmar Pacific. The vessel, originally built in the 1970s, will be outfitted with new Wärtsilä gensets to extend its lifetime and improve reliability.Debmar Pacific is engaged in diamond mining operations off the coast of Namibia. With modern gensets, the lifetime of the vessel is extended and its specific fuel oil consumption (SFOC) is reduced. In additionâŚ
Chariot Oil & Gas Get Licences for 3 Blocks in Namibia
Namibian Portfolio. In an update it informed about its Namibian portfolio, its repositioning in the region and forward work programmes across these licences. These steps improve Chariot's negotiating position in partnering discussions and provide further commercial optionality. The move also aligns this part of Chariot's portfolio with its strategy of being a fast follower and managing risk whilst retaining significant equity and acreage positions. In line with this strategy, Chariot will aim to proceed towards the drilling phase across its Namibian acreage following appropriate geological and financial de-risking. Within the Central blocksâŚ
Namibian Government Halts Seabed Mining
The Australian-based Deep Sea Mining Campaign congratulated the Namibian Governments on its decision to place a moratorium on seabed mining. âThe Deep Sea Mining campaign applauds the Namibian governmentâs decision to impose a moratorium for 18 months on marine phosphate mining,â said Natalie Lowrey, communications coordinator for the Deep Sea mining campaign. In announcing the decision, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, the Hon. Bernhard Esau, stressed that seabed mining cannot happen if there is not solid proof that it will not have negative impacts on the environment. âNamibia has shown wisdom in being cautious. This very caution is exactly how sustainability is achieved.
