Environmental sustainability is a benchmark of marine diamond production for De Beers Marine Namibia (Debmarine). In fact, the company replaces 99% of the material it extracts off the seafloor where most of the sediment resettles within a few hours, and the finer sediment settles in a few days. Thereafter, the impacted environment returns to its natural state within the next three to 10 years. 

This was the assurance given to President Nangolo Mbumba on Friday morning by Debmarine chief executive officer Willy Mertens during a courtesy call at State House with international film star and global ambassador for De Beers, Lupita Nyong’o. 

During the brief meeting, Mertens told Mbumba that Debmarine and its “Natural Diamonds” brand is gaining ground against laboratory-grown synthetic diamonds. 

However, global consumers have been expressing concern about the environmental impact of natural diamonds. The failure to address such concerns has fuelled a surge of interest in synthetic diamonds, which many consumers prefer as they are considered more ethical, environmentally-friendly and 30% cheaper than natural diamonds. 

Figures for 2023 indicate that Botswana is the biggest African diamond producer, with 24.5 million carats. Other African producers include the Democratic Republic of Congo with 9.9 million carats, South Africa with 9.6 million, Angola with 8.7 million, Zimbabwe with 4.4 million and Namibia with 2 million carats.

“It will take time, but towards the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, we will see the light,” said Mertens about the battle with synthetics.  

Debmarine’s licence to operate is conditional upon environmental compliance, and all aspects of its operations are carefully considered and managed in line with the highest standards of environmental management. 

Meanwhile, during a media briefing on Thursday, Nyong’o said the world is more fixated on the value of diamonds, and people rarely consider what the value of the diamond industry is to the countries in which they are sourced. 

“What I have experienced so far is that diamonds have impacted the trajectory of Namibia as a whole. They have touched the lives of many people in Namibia, and there is a lot of pride in diamond wealth. Today, I got to meet locals who fill all sorts of roles in the very complex ecosystem of the diamond business, from jewellery sorting to quality control, from technological development to company management, from capacity-building to conservation efforts. I saw gem quality diamonds that speak to the depth of the country’s contribution to the global industry, and I also got to hear from entrepreneurs whose businesses have been launched with the help of the mentorship that has come from company partnerships with government and other local stakeholders,” she observed. Nyong’o said it is clear the effects of diamonds on society are as “prismatic” as the diamonds themselves.

She was particularly impressed by the roles women play in the diamond industry. “It was a woman who showed me how the drilling gets done to source kimberlite in the Venetia mine in Limpopo, and before this, when I thought of a diamond miner, a woman was not what I saw. And it was a woman who walked me through the complex sorting of rough diamonds here at Namibia Diamond Trading Company, and when I thought of a diamond sorted before this experience, which was not often, I have to admit, a woman was not what I saw”, she beamed.

In general, mining, but specifically diamonds, continue to be a pivotal contributor to the Namibian economy. 

Debmarine’s most technologically- advanced vessel, the Benguela Gem, yielded 480 000 carats of diamonds during the 2022/23 financial year.