/ 5 October 2000

DIAMOND COMPANY SCRAPES THE BOTTOM

THE Namibian Minerals Corporation (NAMCO) has launched a project to comb the ocean floor for new underwater diamond deposits. NAMCO, Africa’s second largest diamond producer, says the latest survey technology and three-dimensional images of the ocean floor enabled geologists to identify 163 areas with diamond potential, it said. Namibia’s underwater diamonds, which experts say are of good quality, make up 56% of its total diamond production.