Dutch private equity investor Kenzoll Capital is partnering with Namibian-registered MSF Commercials to restart the Elizabeth Bay diamond mine in the Sperrgebiet, with $50 million in planned investment. The operation, also known as the Sperrgebiet mine, contains 10. 5 million carats of onshore and offshore diamond resources. Some of the funding will support exploration for other minerals.
Kenzoll Capital chief executive Corné Melissen said the project is intended to restore production, jobs and economic activity in an area that has depended on diamonds for more than a century. The company has already invested more than $10 million in Namibia and described diamonds as the starting point for a longer-term investment focus that includes critical minerals.
The planned restart comes as Namibia’s diamond industry faces a sharp decline.
The project also returns foreign capital to a mine that De Beers had concluded was no longer economical to operate.