Sectoral SEA: Generic Environmental Management Programme for Marine Diamond Mining off the West Coast of South Africa

Diamonds are mined economically on the continental shelf of the west coast of South Africa (and adjoining Namibia). Onshore mining began in the early 1900s and, since the 1960s, has extended into the surf zone and shallow subtidal areas of the sea. In the mid-1980s, the South African Government recognized the potential to mine commercially viable quantities of diamonds in deeper waters. It established formal concession areas covering 100,000km² of the continental shelf off the west coast of South Africa.