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New De Beers ship to mine marine diamonds

April 23, 2007

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Johannesburg, South Africa—De Beers is taking another plunge into marine diamond mining, this time in South Africa, with its announcement of the naming and blessing of "Peace in Africa," the first marine diamond mining vessel to operate in South African waters.

The ship, which was christened Friday, will allow De Beers to mine for marine diamonds in the Atlantic Ocean off Namaqualand in the Northern Cape Province. De Beers will use technology similar to the type that has been deployed off the Namibian coast, where marine production has reached about a million carats per year. Namibia's marine diamonds account for more than half of the nation's total production, exceeding that of its land-based mines.

Peace in Africa is equipped with a large undersea tracked mining tool called a "crawler" and also has a specialized diamond-recovery treatment plant on board. De Beers has invested a billion rand (about $141.6 million) in the project.

"The production expected from the South African Sea Areas offers the prospect of additional, good quality, profitable diamond production for De Beers, which will make a valuable contribution to the South African economy," David Noko, managing director of De Beers Consolidated Mines, said in a statement from De Beers.

Mining is expected to start in June, and, once fully commissioned, the mining vessel is expected to yield approximately 240,000 carats a year, with an estimated lifespan of 30 years. De Beers will consider adding more vessels in the area if production exceeds expectations, the company says.

"We believe that this new venture illustrates our confidence in the future of diamond mining in South Africa, coming as it does just six months after the start of construction of the company's other new mine, the one-million-carat-a- year Voorspoed Mine in the Free State," Noko said.

Noko also commented on the positive impact that the mining vessel will increasingly make on the economic prospects in the communities in the Northern Cape coastal region, and noted that during the development of the project, 76 percent of the total local procurement spend in South Africa went to Black Economic Empowerment companies.
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