LLD diamond mine leaves cutters short

ISRAELI tycoon Lev Leviev’s marine mining outfit in Namibia is struggling to find enough diamonds to keep his polishing factory in stones, and it may turn to rival De Beers to fill the shortfall, officials say.

Leviev’s LLD Diamonds Namibia opened as Africa’s biggest cutting and polishing plant a year ago to acclaim from Government, which says that for too long De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, has exported uncut gems without creating more jobs for locals. But nine months after starting mining off Namibia’s coast to supply the polishing plant, Leviev’s Sakawe Mining Corporation (Samicor) says it is simply not finding enough stones.”Unfortunately our concessions are not what we thought them to be …we are not supplying what we thought we would be supplying,” said Eli Nefussy, chief executive of Samicor, which mines rough diamonds from the seabed to supply LLD in the capital of Windhoek.”We are struggling: not enough of them (diamonds) and too small,” Nefussy told Reuters in an interview last week.Samicor uses four research and mining vessels equipped with state-of-the-art ultrasound technology to locate alluvial diamond deposits on the seabed and then vacuum them up.LLD’s factory, fitted out with computer-assisted diamond design and laser cutting technology, is turning out around 12 000 stones averaging 1/2 a carat each month – a tally of just 6 000 carats compared to a projected monthly output of 25 000 carats.Samicor has set itself a target of 1 million carats of rough diamonds per year but at present produces less than 6 percent of Namibia’s 2 million carat annual rough diamond production.The company says Namibia’s diamonds are on average among the highest value in the world, because millions of years of erosion has destroyed sub-standard stones.Those that remain are worth an average US$450 per carat, well ahead of second-placed Russia with an average value of US$170-US$180 per carat, Nefussy said.Samicor’s problem is that its mining concession is not the best place to find lots of big diamonds.De Beers, longtime leader in diamond mining in Namibia and neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, has richer concessions to the south and has offered to sell rough diamonds to LLD.Diamonds account for around 30 per cent of Namibia’s export earnings and some 10 per cent of its gross domestic product.LLD Managing Director Kombadayedu Kapwanga said the company was ready to process De Beers diamonds from around the world, but would prefer to cut and polish Namibian diamonds in Namibia.- Nampa-ReutersBut nine months after starting mining off Namibia’s coast to supply the polishing plant, Leviev’s Sakawe Mining Corporation (Samicor) says it is simply not finding enough stones.”Unfortunately our concessions are not what we thought them to be …we are not supplying what we thought we would be supplying,” said Eli Nefussy, chief executive of Samicor, which mines rough diamonds from the seabed to supply LLD in the capital of Windhoek.”We are struggling: not enough of them (diamonds) and too small,” Nefussy told Reuters in an interview last week.Samicor uses four research and mining vessels equipped with state-of-the-art ultrasound technology to locate alluvial diamond deposits on the seabed and then vacuum them up.LLD’s factory, fitted out with computer-assisted diamond design and laser cutting technology, is turning out around 12 000 stones averaging 1/2 a carat each month – a tally of just 6 000 carats compared to a projected monthly output of 25 000 carats.Samicor has set itself a target of 1 million carats of rough diamonds per year but at present produces less than 6 percent of Namibia’s 2 million carat annual rough diamond production.The company says Namibia’s diamonds are on average among the highest value in the world, because millions of years of erosion has destroyed sub-standard stones.Those that remain are worth an average US$450 per carat, well ahead of second-placed Russia with an average value of US$170-US$180 per carat, Nefussy said.Samicor’s problem is that its mining concession is not the best place to find lots of big diamonds.De Beers, longtime leader in diamond mining in Namibia and neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, has richer concessions to the south and has offered to sell rough diamonds to LLD.Diamonds account for around 30 per cent of Namibia’s export earnings and some 10 per cent of its gross domestic product.LLD Managing Director Kombadayedu Kapwanga said the company was ready to process De Beers diamonds from around the world, but would prefer to cut and polish Namibian diamonds in Namibia.- Nampa-Reuters