The Venetia Underground Project (VUP) of De Beers will achieve operational readiness and first production in 2023, bringing to a conclusion a decade-long construction programme that officially started with the first sod turning in 2013.
The $2-billion project, located to the west of Musina, in Limpopo, will see the 30-year-old Venetia mine transitioning from openpit mining to underground operations, allowing it to continue producing until at least 2046. The mining method to be employed is sub-level caving.
The mine’s two kimberlite orebodies, K01 and K02, will produce 5.9-million tons a year once the VUP fully ramps up, which is the capacity of the existing treatment plant. This throughput equates to a production of about 4.4-million carats of diamonds annually.
The scope of the VUP includes two vertical shafts to a depth of 1 065 m, a life-of-mine decline and pit ramp, and extensive related infrastructure both on surface and underground. The decline extends to a vertical depth of 590 m.
The production shaft, with a finished internal diameter of 7 m, will be equipped with two rock winders, each having two 24-t payload skips. The service shaft, also with a finished internal diameter of 7 m, is dedicated to providing services to the underground mine.
A key part of the infrastructure will be six water control doors, which will be activated in the event of water flows into the mine exceeding the capacity of the underground pumping system. The doors will seal off the ‘dry’ side of the mine from the ‘wet’ side, where mining operations will take place.