Modern Mining January 2018

DIAMONDS

being achieved on a regular basis. Finally, it is worth pointing out that imple- menting a project of the scale and complexity of the VUP is no easy task. To address the many challenges involved, the key par- ties to the project – De Beers, the EPCM contractor, WorleyParsons RSA, and the shaft-sinking and mining contractor, Murray & Roberts Cementation – work together in a ‘tripartite alliance’ in which the emphasis is on collaborative problem-solving. “The three parties are united in their deter- mination to deliver a complex world-class project on time, on budget and to the highest safety standards,” says Kühn. “We still have a long way to go but all the indications are that we are achieving these objectives and that the VUP will rank, once commissioned, as a truly major accomplishment, not only for De Beers but also South Africa’s mining industry.” Photos (unless otherwise acknowledged) courtesy of De Beers

open-pit and VUP production. The problem with this is it would have entailed a significant drop in production at the changeover point. We’ve now largely eliminated this. We’ll be bringing on stream the K2 cave in 2021 while open-pit mining of the K1 ore body continues until late 2023, at which point all open-pit mining ceases and Venetia becomes a 100 % underground operation.” While the VUP focuses primarily on the development of the underground mine, some work will also have to be done on Venetia’s pro- cessing plant to ensure that it has the capacity to handle the 5,9 Mt/a of ore that the under- ground operations will generate. “The capacity of the plant very much depends on the charac- teristics of the material it receives, which can vary considerably depending on where we are in the ore body and we have, in the past, been able to process up to 6 Mt/a,” states Nortje. “Realistically, however, we are going to have to carry out some modifications to ensure that plant capacity is not a constraint once the VUP is fully commissioned. Much of this will be debottlenecking but we have also taken the decision to install an XRT circuit after the DMS as a further concentration stage prior to final recovery. The technology we’re using has been developed in house by De Beers Technologies (DebTech) and has produced excellent results in trials in Johannesburg. We believe that the installation of this circuit will, on its own, get us up to 5,5 Mt/a capacity for more challenging ore types.” He adds that the processing plant at Venetia is currently turning in an outstand- ing performance, with 22 run hours a day

Venetia – an economic lynchpin in Limpopo Officially opened in 1992, the Venetia mine – located 80 km west of Musina – is a major driver of economic activity in the northern part of Limpopo Province, providing employment, if contractors are included, for approxi- mately 3 800 people, most of them drawn from the Musina and Blouberg (Alldays) areas. “We recognise that our position brings with it huge responsibilities and we have very active programmes in place to support communities, promote business development and assist with training and education,”notes Nortje. One major success has been Venetia’s local economic procurement pro- gramme, with 85 % of procurement in 2015 being sourced via BEE entities compared to just 19 % in 2004. Another has been the mine’s skills devel- opment programme, with more than 4 000 people (80 % of them local residents) receiving training in 2015. 

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