Namibian Union Official Says Namdeb To Close Four Mines By 2022
October 26, 17
(IDEX Online) – Namdeb, the diamond mining company jointly owned by the Namibian government and De Beers, plans to close four mines in the coming five years, a Namibian newspaper cited a union official as saying.
The Namibian Sun quoted Mineworkers Union of Namibia Oranjemund branch chairperson Mbidhi Shavuka as saying that the union would talk to Namdeb to keep workers employed for as long as possible.
“We also understand that it is the nature of the resource; diamonds are finite,” he said.
The mines to be shut down are Elizabeth Bay Mine at the end of next year, Daberas at the end of 2019, Sendelingsdrift in 2020 and the main one, Southern Coastal, in 2022, Shavuka said.
Namdeb has made no comment on the report.
The shutdowns would be a severe blow to the Namibian economy since diamonds account for around 20 percent of its foreign export earnings.
Namdeb appears to be concentrating on higher-value marine diamonds after launching the world’s largest diamond exploration ship in June to operate off the coast of Namibia since many land-based deposits are appoaching depletion.