To date, research has focussed on impacts at depths of 120 to 130 metres offshore of southern Namibia where large vessels use different tools to mine the seabed. Key issues that are investigated include assessment of natural variability, the impact of mining on seabed communities and the recovery time of communities. Two main impacts are evaluated - the actual disturbance of the mining tool and the disturbance caused by settling of the tailing plume. In order to conduct this research, complementary techniques are used:
	Video images of the seabed from the two-person research submersible, Jago (hired from the Max-Planck-Institut fur Verhaltensphysiologie, Germany) provide information on habitats, fish and animals living in rocky areas. This information is used to analyse the differences in communities between disturbed and undisturbed sites, using a customised video assessment and quantitative analysis technique developed by scientists specifically for this video information.  Samples collected using a grab sampler provide data on animals living in soft sediments. Differences in seabed communities from undisturbed and disturbed sites are analysed.  Side scan sonar images contribute data for exploring the affect that the settling of tailing plumes has on the seabed communities. These research techniques afford De Beers Marine Namibia a unique data set from which to examine mining impacts. Results show that in the short term (months), mining alters habitat in and adjacent to mined out areas and therefore different animals are found in mined versus unmined areas. However, in the longer term in the mining concession area, results indicate that at the current limited scale of mining no ecosystem changes occur. Research results also show that impacts and recovery are affected by natural events, e.g. river flooding, low oxygen events, natural variability, proximity to shore and adjacent mining. Future research aims to use an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) with instrumentation such as side-scan sonar to further explore the impacts of marine mining.