Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

world. She said that the decision to move operations offshore was made
because NAMDEB’s onshore concessions extended about 5 kilometres into the
offshore waters of Namibia. She said that as was apparent from Mr Corbett’s
presentation, that decision has paid dividends.
Ms. Zaamwani told participants that the main player in Namibia’s
offshore diamond industry is Namdeb, which is jointly owned by the
Government of Namibia and De Beers. In addition she said that NAMCO,
listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, was another player. She informed
participants that during the 1990s, the Government of Namibia decided to
open the industry to more players. Since then other players such as Diamond
Fuels International have joined group. She said that in addition to this
company, which is in the final stages of test mining, there are several other
companies engaged in exploration or prospecting.
With slides, Ms. Zaamwani showed participants photographs of the
ceremony when the joint venture agreement between De Beers and the
Government of Namibia was signed. They showed Mr. Thompson, then the
Chairman of de Beers and therefore Chairman of Namdeb, and the President
of the Republic of Namibia. Ms. Zaamwani said that the joint-venture
partnership was born out of the historical circumstances prevalent at the time
of independence. She said that De Beers, having operated in Namibia for over
75 years, decided to offer fifty per cent equity in its operations to the new
Government at independence. She also said that Namibian law does not
prescribe state participation in mining operations.
Ms. Zaamwani then turned her attention to the legislative framework
for offshore mining in Namibia. She informed participants that at
independence there was virtually no legislative framework applicable to the
mining industry that had been structured to meet the needs of Namibia. She
said that all activities were regulated under the South African mining
legislation. She said that the new Government set about the task of creating
an enabling investment climate within a competitive legislative framework.
She pointed out that in the early 90's when Namibia gained its independence
a lot of countries were opening up their economies and investors had a lot of
places to choose from. She said that countries that offered the most attractive
package got the scarce exploration dollars.
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 775