New opportunities

IHC Merwede technology supports offshore diamond mining

• Introduction
• Exploration
• Mining
• Technical challenges
• Conclusion

Introduction
The southwest coast of Africa has been endowed with a unique treasure of placer diamonds. These deposits originate from kimberlites in the southern African hinterland that were transported to the coastal areas principally by the Orange River drainage system. Land resources of diamonds deplete over time, and the technology and know-how for economic marine mining have matured, creating the conditions for the progressive exploration and mining of marine deposits.

De Beers has a long history of placer mining on land and it is the largest producer and marketer of gem diamonds by value in the world. With the formation of De Beers Marine in 1983, the De Beers Group became actively involved in deepwater marine diamond exploration and mining offshore Namibia and South Africa.
Namibia has the richest marine diamond deposits in the world, and 2005 marked a historic milestone as marine production surpassed land production in Namibia for the first time ever. In 2007, marine diamond production by the De Beers Group passed the 1 million carat mark (1 carat = 0.2 grams).

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