De Beers Invests to extend SA's largest diamond mine

De Beers

The De Beers Group of Companies appear today that it will advance about R20 billion (US$2 billion) to body a new underground abundance below the currently operating accessible pit Venetia Abundance in Limpopo Province. When completed, the new underground abundance will extend the activity of Venetia until 2042 and alter the accessible pit as South Africa's better design mine. This advertisement follows the cancellation of the final outstanding authoritative clearances beforehand this month.


The development and body appearance of the underground abundance is accepted to actualize 1,000 jobs over the next nine years while accessible pit mining operations continue.

Underground operations will activate assembly in 2021, acquiescent about 96 actor carats during the activity of the mine, and accepting added than 3,000 jobs. The activity will apply semi-skilled and accomplished workers, fatigued primarily from the arena and accomplished for the project; mostly accepting abstruse abilities that will enhance the country's abstruse accomplishment ability base. The aggregate of all accessories and casework will be sourced in South Africa.

Philippe Mellier, CEO of the De Beers Group commented, Our investment in Venetia enables us to accommodate greater authoritativeness about abiding accumulation for our Sightholders, decidedly those with accomplishment operations in South Africa. Our Sightholders accept cogent investments in the bounded acid industry and this new underground abundance will accommodate a ample and anticipated accumulation of asperous precious stones for decades to come.

Mr Mellier continued, “It is applicable that De Beers is adulatory its 125th ceremony this year. From our founding in Kimberley in 1888 to today's advertisement at Venetia, South Africa has consistently been the affiliated affection of De Beers. It is acceptable that today's advertisement agency that De Beers will abide South Africa's arch design aggregation until at atomic our 150th anniversary.

Barend Petersen, Chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) commented, We see this cogent basic investment as addition accurate archetype of our charge to the South African mining industry, an industry on which the South African abridgement was congenital afterward the analysis of precious stones in 1866. Almost 150 years later, the country is a assorted economy, while mining charcoal an basic allotment of the aspiration to body a added affluent and candid South Africa.

Phillip Barton, CEO of DBCM stated, The De Beers Venetia Underground activity aggregation accept been assessing the safest and a lot of bread-and-butter options to extend the mining operations at Venetia Mine, and alleviate the all-encompassing ore affluence below the accessible pit. Venetia will play a above role in the approaching of De Beers and we accept accordingly been advancing for years to accommodated bound deadlines and top standards so that Venetia Underground is accessible to activate bearing South African precious stones by 2021.

The Venetia Abundance underground activity was accustomed in 2012 by the De Beers and Anglo American Boards. Environmental authorisation was accepted in July 2012, and the
Environmental Management Plan was accustomed by the Department of Mineral Resources in October. The final outstanding authoritative clearances were acquired beforehand this month.

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