EXPLORATION 1997 — Hot prospects draw diamond juniors to Namibia

It has long been known that many diamonds from the kimberlites of the Orange River watershed in southern Africa washed into the Atlantic Ocean and were pushed northward by the prevailing currents. De Beers Consolidated Mines was first to capitalize on this geological knowledge, tying up much of the prospective sea-floor properties from the Orange River north to Luderitz, Namibia. A handful of junior companies from Canada and other countries followed De Beers to the southern coast, and their combined project areas are now roughly equivalent to those held by the South African giant.

But at the recent Indaba ’97 mining conference in Cape Town, Namibia’s director of mines, Inge Zaamwani, told The Northern Miner that offshore diamond prospects are now thought to extend along the entire coastline of the southwestern African country.

“The offshore areas [to the north] remain largely unexplored,” she said.

“There are traces and trends that suggest that diamonds could actually go up to the Cunene [the river marking Namibia’s border with Angola].” While sea-floor diamonds generally get smaller as one travels north along the shoreline, Zaamwani said the quality of those discovered in traces remains consistently high.

The government has reserved certain prospective offshore areas in the north and subdivided them into blocks on which companies can now bid.

“Onshore mining operations are increasing, but a lot of interest is currently in the offshore operations,” she said. “We now have more areas open offshore than onshore.”

The minister noted that juniors are also beginning to show interest in onshore properties along Namibia’s side of the Cunene River, a region already being explored by De Beers’ joint venture with the Namibian government, NamDeb.

Of the diamonds recovered in Namibia and off its coast, 95% are gem quality — the highest percentage in the world.

Unlike in many other African countries, foreign companies working in Namibia are not required to share their projects with the government. NamDeb is the only joint venture formed with the government, and was arranged at De Beers’ request.

“There is no requirement in law,” Zaamwani said, “and it’s not a trend that we encourage. The De Beers arrangement was a special arrangement, and I think that’s where it will end.”