Debmarine Namibia, a joint venture between the Republic of Namibia and De Beers Group, announced plans for the world’s first custom-built diamond recovery vessel.
The vessel is expected to cost $468 million and represents the “largest ever single investment in the marine diamond industry,” according to a press release from the company.
The ship will become the seventh vessel in the Debmarine Namibia fleet and is scheduled to begin operations in 2022. It’s expected to add 500,000 carats annually to Debmarine Namibia’s production, an increase of about 35 percent on current production.
Damen Shipyards was selected to build the ship.
Tom Alweendo, minister of mines and energy for Namibia, said: “We note and appreciate the investment announced today by Debmarine Namibia.
“It is through investments like this we can continue to develop Namibia’s economy. As the Government we will continue to do what we can to promote and encourage investment in the mining sector.”
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Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers Group, said: “Some of the highest quality diamonds in the world are found at sea off the Namibian coast. With this investment we will be able to optimise new technology to find and recover diamonds more efficiently and meet growing consumer demand across the globe.”
The vessel is expected to create more than 160 new jobs alongside Debmarine Namibia’s current workforce of 975 employees.