Name of the Project
Venetia underground project (VUP).

Location
Venetia mine in Limpopo, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), part of the De Beers Group, a subsidiary of Anglo American.

Project Description
The Venetia mine, which officially opened on August 14, 1992, is currently the largest producer of diamonds in South Africa.

The mine is currently an openpit operation; however, following shareholder approval,  development work began in late 2013 to build the new underground mining operation beneath the current operating openpit. It is currently the largest diamond mine development under way anywhere in the world. The new underground mine will extend the life of Venetia mine to beyond 2040 and replace the openpit production from 2023, meaning Venetia will, therefore, remain South Africa’s largest diamond mine.

The Venetia project comprises the K1 and K2 orebodies. Both kimberlites extend below surface, enabling De Beers to mine to depths of up to 1 000 m. There are indications that K2, in particular, extends well below 1 000 m, and De Beers may explore options that extend the underground operation’s life beyond 2046.

The underground project will use sublevel caving to extract material, primarily from K2. However, De Beers has incorporated new design options to extract ore from the K1 underground orebody, necessitating the completion of a raisebore shaft and underground in-pit decline to better access both orebodies.

Potential Job Creation
During the VUP construction period, employment will peak at about 2 000. A total of 1 300 people are working on the VUP, and the workforce is predicted to average 2 000 from late 2020 to late 2021.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
De Beers stated in 2012 that it expected to invest about $2-billion in the VUP to 2023, when the conversion from openpit to underground and the production of first ore are expected to begin.

Planned Start /End Date
The openpit is expected to cease production in 2021.

The underground operation is expected to deliver first production at Venetia during 2022.

Latest Developments
Global industrial company Metso is set to deliver high-performance crushing and materials handling equipment to the Venetia mine.

Metso will deliver two primary jaw crushers and a number of feeders, all of which will be installed underground.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Murray & Roberts (M&R) Cementation (development of underground mine); Metso (crushing and materials handling equipment); Worley Parsons, Stefanutti & Stocks, BBE, Sandvik; and ABB are amongst some of the other contractors involved in the project.

On Budget and on Time?
The project is on schedule to produce its first diamonds in 2022.

Contact Details for Project Information
DBCM senior communications manager Jackie Mapiloko, tel +27 11 374 7173 or email jackie.mapiloko@debeersgroup.com.