CHAMWE KAIRA
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has confirmed that the sales agreement between the Namibian government and De Beers will end on 16 May 2026.
The ministry spokesperson, Ten Hasheela, told Observer Money that an internal review process has started.
“The negotiating team is, however, in the process to be appointed,” spokesperson Ten Hasheela told Observer Money.
Asked whether Namibia will seek a larger stake in the next agreement beyond the current 15%, Hasheela said the ministry cannot speculate on the outcome.
According to her, the team will review the current agreement and propose key issues for negotiation.
“Our intention is to ensure that the outcome will serve the best interests of both parties and stakeholders,” said Hasheela.
Last week, the De Beers Group confirmed that the sales agreement between De Beers and the Government of the Republic of Namibia is valid until May 2026.
“However, at this stage we are not in a position to comment on the negotiations process or the associated timeline,” De Beers said.
The government of Botswana and De Beers Group announced the successful conclusion of negotiations focused on establishing a new sales agreement for Debswana’s rough diamond production, as well as extending Debswana’s mining licences beyond 2029. This development is in alignment with the heads of terms agreed on 30 September 2023.
Following the issuance of new mining licences by the appropriate regulatory authorities in Botswana and final governance approvals, both parties said they look forward to signing and executing the relevant agreements. Until the execution of these new agreements, the terms of the existing agreements will continue to remain in effect.
Debmarine Namibia, a joint venture between De Beers and Namibia, produced 1 859 000 carats in 2023. For the 2023 production year, Debmarine Namibia carried out diamond recovery in an area amounting to 20.8 km² against the original budget of 24.04 km² and 2.014 m carats, respectively.
On the other hand, Namdeb, which is a land-based operation, produced 467 608 carats in 2023. Despite the softening demand and lower prices for diamonds registered in 2023, Namdeb recorded a remarkable production performance, which increased by 13.5% in 2023.
The high production was due to increased mining capacity a successful ramp-up of operations, and improved asset reliability through the acquisition of new machinery and equipment.
