The Northern Areas is home to Namdeb's Elizabeth Bay Mine, situated approximately 25 km south of Lüderitz, as well as the company's marine and land contractor operations.
Elizabeth Bay is an opencast operation that has seen three main phases of mining; the last of which continues today.
The first phase, undertaken by the Deutsche Kolonialgesellshaft für Südwestafrika (DKG) saw the start of surficial mining in 1911 which abruptly ended in 1915.
After World War I, a second phase of mining by Consolidated Diamond Mines of S.W.A., later known as CDM began in the early 1920s and with interruptions in mining operations during the Great Depression and World War II, the mine was finally closed in 1948.
The official opening of the Elizabeth Bay Mine in 1991 saw the implementation of the third phase of mining that today continues to contribute significantly to the Namibian economy.
The diamonds at Elizabeth Bay are found in ancient windblown deposits known as grits that are significantly coarser than the desert sand. Thus, diamonds are not associated with the sand seen blanketing the landscape.
The coarser the deposit, the greater the degree of diamond concentration. As a consequence of its windblown origin, the deposits yield a small average diamond size ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 carats per stone.
More importantly, the energetic desert winds improve the grade of the deposit by removing the finer sand and thus leaving behind a lag of coarse material. The grey-coloured grits on surface is a good example of this process. Here diamond grades can be as much as 100 carats per hundred ton.
Below the surface grits, the older dune material yields lower grades that is, in places, cemented by calcium carbonate to form a hard layer resembling concrete. These hard layers can be diamond bearing depending on how coarse the material is.
Elizabeth Bay Mine is actively involved in the local and regional community, supporting activities and local businesses as a means of fulfilling Namdeb's social responsibilities to the local people and the Namibian economy.
In 2007, production for the Elizabeth Bay mine exceeded planned production for the first time since the commissioning of the new plant in 2004.
Namdeb's mining activities owe their origin to this area, where the first Namibian diamond was discovered in 1908.
The mining activities of the Northern Areas have played an important role in the economic development of Lüderitz. Elizabeth Bay Mine has NOSCAR status, which is one of the highest safety recognition awards in the industry.
Elizabeth Bay has won several prestigious awards, including the Namibia Chamber of Mines Small Mines Competition Shield. The mine has also been awarded ISO 14001 certification for its exceptional environmental protection programme.
In order to increase the life of Elizabeth Bay Mine the “Resource Extension Project’ (REP) was initiated in 2001. As the dry unconsolidated resource was limited, the potential of the remaining wet and cemented ore was realised to contribute significantly to the life of mine.
The ongoing project aims to upgrade the existing Elizabeth Bay treatment plant to allow processing of wet and cemented ore, as well as increasing the capacity to deal with associated clay material.
During the development and construction phases of the plant upgrade a parallel resource development program has been implemented to add the previously unmineable material into the current resource.
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Recovery plant at Elizabeth Bay