Metallugical News

The mv Namakwa sailing from Table Bay, South Africa, in October on its way to sea trials. In early November, the Namakwa commenced diamond mining near Luderitz, Namibia. The newly outfitted ship replaces the smaller mv Ivan Prinsep, as the mining ship at the joint venture operations offshore from Luderitz, of Vancouver, B.C.-based Diamond Fields International Ltd. and the Toronto-based Trans Hex Group.

The Namakwa will use airlift technology with a more powerful 20-inch airlift system and an aggressive high-pressure water jetting system, both of which will enable greater throughput and should result in increased diamond recovery.