Diamond Board of Namibia

The Diamond Board of Namibia is the regulatory authority overseeing the diamond industry in Namibia, established under the Diamond Act of 1999 and headquartered in Windhoek. Namibia is one of the world's leading diamond-producing countries, with diamond mining conducted by Namdeb Diamond Corporation, a fifty-fifty joint venture between the Namibian government and De Beers Group established in 1994. Namibia's diamond production comes from both onshore alluvial deposits along the Atlantic coast near Oranjemund and offshore marine diamond mining in the Atlantic Ocean, where specialized mining vessels extract diamonds from the seabed at depths of over one hundred meters. Marine diamond mining off the Namibian coast accounts for the majority of Namibian diamond production, making Namibia a pioneer in deep-sea diamond recovery technology. The Diamond Board licenses diamond prospecting, mining and trading companies, monitors compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for conflict-free diamonds, collects diamond production royalties for the state, and works to maximize local value addition through diamond cutting and polishing in Namibia.