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The Next Generation Crawler (NGC) positioned at the L-Berth in Cape Town harbour undergoing final testing before installation.
Next generation crawler for marine diamond recovery Over two decades after pioneering subsea crawler technology for marine diamond recovery, De Beers’ technology and engineering division, Upstream Technology, has now deployed the next-generation of crawler design and capability.
T he latest crawler system, designed and built for Debmarine Namibia’s Benguela Gem diamond recovery vessel, represents a major leap forward in sub-sea recovery technology, says Rudi Agostinho, the Next Generation Crawler (NGC) Project Manager at Upstream Technology in Cape Town. After nearly four years of intensive design, engineering and building, the first crawler was installed on the Benguela Gem in September 2025 and entered production in October the same year. A second unit is already under construction and will serve as a complete rotable spare - ensuring the client experiences no significant downtime. “We have combined advanced automation, precision engineering and insights gained from decades of operational data,” says Agostinho. “These next-generation crawlers will deliver higher production, combined with efficiency and even better reliability than earlier models, which were already world leading.” The upgrades provide a strategic boost for the
group, increasing the Benguela Gem’s effective recovery rate by more than 20% - significantly reducing the cost per carat recovered. This additional output enables the vessel to fully capitalise on the capacity of its onboard treatment plant resulting in only a marginal increase in operating cost for a significant improvement in productivity. Debmarine Namibia closely monitors its environmental impact and has a comprehensive programme to minimise the impact and accelerate the seabed recovery post operations. By recovering the diamonds from the ore onboard the vessel and returning all the extracted material back to the seabed in the area it was removed from, the recovery is significantly accelerated. Furthermore no harmful chemicals, which could damage the environment, are used in the process. Performance and throughput The new crawler is an engineering heavyweight, measuring 28 m in length, 8 m in width and
Rudi Agostinho, Project Manager for the Next Generation Crawler (NGC) at Upstream Technology.
28 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | DECEMBER 2025 - JANUARY 2026
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