Historic Diamond Fields & Mines in Namibia

Southern Coastal Strip — Sperrgebiet (Kolmanskop, Pomona, Elizabeth Bay)

Namibia’s diamond story began in 1908 when a railway worker, Zacharias Lewala, found a diamond near Lüderitz—sparking a rush and the creation of the Sperrgebiet (“prohibited area”), a vast restricted mining zone along the coast. Early operations worked beach and raised-marine terraces around Kolmanskop, Pomona and Elizabeth Bay; production quickly centralized under CDM (later Namdeb) and continues in a controlled form today. Sources: GIA reading list (Namibian alluvial history); National Geographic on Kolmanskop; AGI abstract on early history.

Orange River — Oranjemund Terraces (Daberas, Sendelingsdrif)

Exceptionally rich terrace deposits were identified north of the Orange River mouth in 1928, leading to Oranjemund’s rise as a company town (1936). These gravels have long yielded high-value, well-rounded stones transported and concentrated by the Orange River and Atlantic processes; modern Namdeb operations include Daberas and Sendelingsdrif. Sources: AGI abstract (terraces & discovery); Britannica “Oranjemund”; Namdeb technical/Expo notes on Orange River Mines.

Offshore Atlantic 1 Marine Fields — Debmarine Namibia

Since the 2000s, offshore recovery has overtaken land output. Debmarine Namibia mines seafloor placers in the Atlantic 1 license area using crawler–vessel systems operating ~90–150 m deep. The purpose-built MV Benguela Gem (commissioned March 18, 2022) added ~500k carats/year capacity and helped drive a record 1.725 Mct in 2022 and higher marine output in 2023. Sources: De Beers/Debmarine announcements on Benguela Gem; Debmarine history; Namibian Sun production update (2023); 2023 national totals.

Namibia’s Most Historic & Largest Diamonds

Largest Recorded Namibia Rough (Oranjemund area)

Rough: ~246 ct (yellow octahedron, onshore terrace deposit). Context: Early onshore mining near the Orange River produced many small to mid-size stones; very large crystals are uncommon in Namibia, making the ~246 ct stone the country’s largest recorded rough. Sources: Geological Survey of Namibia/AGI abstract; SAIMM technical paper reference; 2025 peer-reviewed coast-transport study (size context).

Idatal/Pomona Fields — Early Large Stones

Range: frequent 1–20 ct stones, with occasional larger finds reported from historic workings (e.g., 50+ ct class at Idatal) during the peak years of Pomona/Idatal terrace mining (1912–1914). These fields exemplify Namibia’s classic raised-marine placer style. Sources: regional sedimentology notes for Idatal; historical summaries of Pomona output.

Summary

Namibia’s diamond industry evolved from 1908 coastal discoveries into a tightly managed land-and-sea operation focused on ultra-concentrated alluvial placers. Oranjemund’s terraces and Debmarine’s offshore Atlantic 1 fields anchor production today, with industry-leading value per carat. While Namibia has fewer “named” mega-stones than kimberlite producers, it boasts the country-record ~246 ct rough and a long record of high-quality marine and beach diamonds. Primary references: GIA Namibia overviews; Debmarine/Namdeb histories and releases; Geological Survey (AGI) abstract.

Datasets: U.S. Geological Survey, Major Mineral Deposits of the World, Open-File Report 2005-1294. Data portal