Debmarine Namibia is a joint venture marine diamond prospecting and recovery company, owned in equal shares by the Namibian government and De Beers Group. 

The company began operations in January 2002 and mines off the southern coast of Namibia. 

The company currently operates five diamond recovery vessels and one exploration and sampling vessel, the MV SS Nujoma.

The company recently acquired the world’s largest diamond recovery vessel, the Benguela Gem, constituting a N$7 billion investment. 

The new vessel, which will operate for at least 30 years, will use sub-sea crawling extraction techniques to retrieve diamonds from the seabed off the coast of Namibia. 

In this male-dominated mining industry, where it is often difficult for a woman to gain a significant foothold, Maenge Shipiki Kali, Debmarine’s business optimisation manager, is making waves and steadily ascending the corporate ladder. 

New Era recently had the opportunity to sit down with her, one of the mining industry’s first female vessel managers, for some valuable insight into her background and to interrogate what drives her ambitions. 

New Era: Where did you grow up and how was your family life? 

Maenge Shipiki Kali: I was born and bred in Walvis Bay. My mother was a domestic worker, and my father was a factory worker. I was raised by my parents (Nangombe and Hango Shipiki) and also by my namesake Ketjimayenge. I had a very traditional and loving household based on the Lutheran faith and with great emphasis on being humble and truthful. I was raised to believe material earthly possessions did not matter much but that you must always carry yourself in a way where your name, integrity, authenticity and your honour speak for themselves. My father always said you must always try and imitate the best your peers offered in terms of ambition and achievements (inothigwapo kuunona uukweni!)

NE: How did your community influence you?

MSK: I grew up in a community where all the adults were parenting the children collectively. If you made trouble in one corner of the township, you will get sorted – and then when you got home, you got sorted out even further! If you did well at school or anything, then all the parents would beam with pride, and they celebrated us. And so, I always felt if I did not do well, I would disappoint the entire Kuisebmund and not just my family. I also had great teachers at primary school.  Teacher Wilfried Emvula (or ambassador Emvula as he is now known) is someone who was always in my corner. He made it clear to me that he expected me to show up in life with my best abilities. Nothing less! Mister Festus Ekandjo was also someone who believed and motivated us to have a passion for learning. But, my biggest champion was tate Loth Nendongo (Ferende), a cultured man who was generous with his time and wisdom.  He taught me one should always make time to engage and interact with those who are younger than you.

NE: How did you decide to become a metallurgist?

MSK: I had a great science teacher at Dobra, Mr Deon Nashenda. He was strict with the sciences but made the learning fun. With a love for science and being pragmatic, I wanted to study something that was going to put me in a position where I could walk into a job after graduation. I wanted a career that would allow me to work in the office and outside in the field.

NE: How did you end up at Debmarine Namibia?

MSK: I was seconded to the De Beers Group in Johannesburg, where I was doing work on best practices, benchmarking and providing technical services to the De Beers mines in SA (Koffiefontein, Kimberley, Kleinsee, Finsch mine), Debswana and the Canadian operations. When my secondment at the De Beers corporate headquarters came to an end in 2002, I was fortunate to join Debmarine Namibia (DBMN). This was at a time the company was moving across from SA to Namibia. So, I am one of the DBMN startup members!

NE: What’s the most satisfying aspect of your job?

MSK: I have worked for Debmarine Namibia for 28 years now. I have had an organic career growth – mostly on the mining coalface. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than working with the high calibre people, who are smart, committed to their craft and who make me a better professional. It is great to work in an environment where I can take an idea – a project – and create something meaningful that can bring about organisational change. Nothing gives me better fulfilment than watching others grow into their best selves. I am at a fortunate phase of my career where it is exciting to watch others do well for themselves.

NE: You were at one stage responsible for two diamond-mining vessels with teams obviously male dominated. How would you describe that experience? 

MSK: This was a challenging but truly transformational experience. I was the first woman appointed as a vessel manager. That ‘first’ always brings its challenges. So, I did meet resistance – some of it just straight up in your face sexist and racist. But fortunately, for me by the time I became a vessel manager, I already had more than 10 years of experience as a mining professional. By then, I had managed production plants and worked at the De Beers Group corporate centre as a principal metallurgist. I was not intimidated by the role. I had earned my seat around that table, and I did not have to stand back in terms of capabilities, knowledge and skills. I enjoyed my time as a vessel manager tremendously. The crew was incredibly supportive of me and embraced me as their leader. I was also fortunate that I had a colleague (Johan Botha), who is very much like a brother to me, who always had my back and was supportive.

That role was challenging. It required me to spend a lot of time at sea, and my kids were still really small. But fortunately, I have an extraordinary supportive husband Daniel Kali. To succeed in this environment, you need someone who supports you unconditionally.

NE: Tell us about your role in coaching women in mining?

MSK: Having a coach is one of the most critical privileges any professional can have. Yet, it is such a personal engagement. You need to have a connection with the person. When I started my career, I struggled to find someone to talk to, someone who could relate to my ambitions and appreciate that I was not prepared to sacrifice my authentic self for the sake of a career. I was, however, always inspired by Tate Frans Ndoroma, who is a fellow metallurgist and who made time to mentor me.

As for now, there is nothing I find as delightful and joyful as being that sounding board for other women in mining. It is truly inspiring to see so many smart, ambitious and experienced women in mining. We are out in numbers in terms of geologists, metallurgists, engineers and artisans. Having been on the coalface for so long, I have battle scars that are only of value if others can tap into my experience to help make their journey more enjoyable.

NE: Describe your typical workday?

MSK: I have a dream job! My day typically starts with the daily production meetings – and from there, my focus shifts to various initiatives I am currently driving. I happen to be at the centre of some of the most exciting initiatives taking place in the organisation – from digitalisation, innovation, risk management, safety and enhanced ways of work. I will typically have discussions around digitalisation, and how we need to position the organisation and work towards positioning ourselves to make better use of technology. I then typically shift my focus during the day to operational risk management. This is an area that Debmarine continuously focuses on because of the high-risk environment in which we operate. 

We are at a critical cusp of transition in mining, and one of the initiatives I am currently working on is a new program implemented to focus on enhancing the way we plan and execute work at DBMN. I have no doubt that to continue mining sustainably into the future, every mining operation needs to have a framework structured and provide clarity to their teams. I have been spending so much of my time focussing on enhanced ways of work, using dashboards and data to make better decisions – and just overall, driving the change process to position DBMN to capitalise on the digitalisation revolution, which has swept across all industries.

NE: How is De Beers Marine helping Namibia to become self-sustainable?

MSK: In the mining sector, we are probably by far the largest contributor to the country’s fiscal coffers. Our employees offshore and shore-based are social activists, who are dynamic in their communities. We recently embarked on a very ambitious program to distinguish ourselves as a marine diamond extraction company with an activist soul. To this effect, we are mobilising all our employees to become agents of change in our communities and the country. We are doing this under an exciting program called ‘Building Forever’. In all our corporate social investments, we try and align our efforts with the government’s visions around skills, education, climate change, women in business, and so on. Our focus has always been to use diamonds as a vehicle to bring good tides to Namibia.

NE: You are an ardent photographer. What are your favourite subjects to shoot and where?

MSK: There is nothing as beautiful for me as capturing people who are in dire straits, yet they are joyful. Yes, true wealth is a good thing, but I think there is too much emphasis on sacrificing joy and happiness in the pursuit of riches. The things that can make one happy emanates from within oneself. I love capturing those shots of resilience in the face of hardships.