Name of the Project
Venetia underground project (VUP).

Location
Venetia mine in Limpopo, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
De Beers Group Managed Operations, a subsidiary of Anglo American.

Project Description
The Venetia mine, which officially opened on August 14, 1992, is currently the biggest 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 biggest 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, Venetia will, therefore, remain South Africa’s biggest 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 construction, employment will peak at about 2 000 personnel. The workforce currently comprises a total of 1 800 people.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
De Beers plans to invest about $2-billion in the VUP until 2025, although first ore is expected from the underground operation in 2022.

Planned Start /End Date
The openpit is expected to cease production in the first half of 2022, owing to additional optimisation work in the openpit to ensure an effective transition between the openpit and the underground operation.

The underground operation is expected to deliver its first ore at Venetia during the second half of 2022.

Latest Developments
The project remains on track and within budget and was  40% complete as at August 2020.

Both shafts have reached their final depth of 1 080 m. Equipping the production shaft has begun, and the production ramp has reached the top-level access. The team is also starting to develop the second surface decline access, which is important to the overall project.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Murray & Roberts Cementation (development of underground mine). Worley, Stefanutti Stocks, BMH, BBE and ABB are among the contractors involved in the project.

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