De Beer JV Debmarine Namibia output drops 13% as pandemic hurts diamond demands

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Debmarine Namibia, a subsidiary of Anglo American Plc-owned De Beers SA, the London-based multinational corporation specialized in exploration, mining, retailing and trading of diamonds, had issued a statement late on Monday saying that the Namibia’s leading marine diamond producer had witnessed a 13 per cent decline in production last year to 1.125 million carats as demands were pummelled due to a still-inflaming global-scale public health concern.

In point of fact, Namibia, the Southwest African country on Atlantic Ocean Coast, houses the world’s richest marine diamond deposits and has been among the top ten producers of diamonds across the globe, though the country’s diamond production had been severely hampered last year, mostly due to a sweeping plunge in demands of the precious gem in the international markets as beforementioned.

Debmarine revenue falls 5% in 2020

Aside from that, Debmarine Namibia, De Beer’s Namibian marine mining JV, was also quoted saying in the statement that its revenues tumbled as much as 5 per cent to $427 million last year, while the De Beer subsidiary’s royalties and taxes to the Government slid by 6 per cent to an approximated $140 million.

On top of that, revenues of Debmarine Namibia, a 50-50 De Beer JV with the Namibian Government, tottered more than anticipated last year as it had teamed up with as many as five African Commercial lenders in order to finance a $375-million new diamond mining vessel.

Nonetheless, the company Chief Executive Otto Shikongo said in a post-earnings’ call with the reporters that works on the new mining ship which would have a capacity to add more than 500,000 carats of output annually, dubbed as AMV3, was continuing and expected to be completed by Q3, 2021.