Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

State, by such spilling or pollution, the holder of such license or mining
claim shall forthwith
• Report such spilling, pollution, loss or damage to the Minister;
• Take at his or her own costs all such steps as may be necessary
in accordance with good reconnaissance practices, good
prospecting practices or good mining practices or otherwise as
may be necessary to remedy such spilling, pollution, loss or
damage.
2.2 De Beers Marine Approach to Environmental Management
During 1999, NAMDEB delivered 1.3 million carats (79% of the
country’s total diamond production of 1.6 million carats), and contributed
Namibian $ 533 million (± US$76 million) in taxes and royalties from sales
valued at N$ 2.4 billion. The contribution of deepwater offshore marine
diamond production by DBM to NAMDEB’s total production was 514 000
carats. DBM’s contribution to NAMDEB is likely to increase in future as
the output from land-based operations declines through responsible
depletion of the remaining onshore Mineral Resources. Consequently, the
continued long-term operation of the offshore marine diamond mining
industry will be crucial to the future of a diverse group of stakeholders
and it will play an increasingly significant role in the Namibian economy.
From the outset of large-scale mining operations in 1990, DBM has
proactively led the way in developing a rigorous approach to the
environmental management of offshore diamond exploration and mining
operations. Today, DBM mines between 2 to 2.5 km²/year with a total of
about 10 km² mined to date, representing about 0.00002% of the 6098 km²
Atlantic 1 Mining License. The vast majority of DBM mining activities
occur outside the territorial waters of Namibia, beyond the 12 nautical
mile limit at water depths exceeding 115 m. NAMDEB also holds a further
20 000 km² of Exclusive Prospecting Licenses which are operated
exclusively by DBM on behalf of NAMDEB.
The mining process is precisely controlled, whether material is
extracted using large-bore drill or seafloor crawler devices. Generally
speaking, the depth of sediment extracted does not exceed one metre. The
pattern of disturbance on the seafloor differs according to the technique
used to extract gravel from individual mine blocks, which are either 50 by
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 622