Modern Mining March 2022

DIAMONDS

FutureSmart

Venetia Mine with Venetia Underground Mine shaft in the background, South Africa.

Dr Urishanie Govender De Beers Group Head of Safety and Sustainability.

Gary van Eck Group Principal Safety Lead.

manager for Diamond FutureSmart Mining, De Beers Group is pioneering innovations for its future mines using technology to change the current mining paradigm and significantly reducing the footprint of the mining process. “Adopting the Diamond FutureSmart strat- egy allows us to undertake precision mining which, for instance, promotes minimal use of energy, water and capital. In this way, we are able to address several issues, including a smaller footprint and reduced wastage,” he says. Among the initiatives underway to dra- matically reduce the footprint of new mines, De Beers Group will use modular plants and dry stack process waste, which will eliminate the need for extensive tailings disposal dams. The miner is also eyeing renewable

international accounting tool, the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources while Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electric- ity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the reporting company. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a com- pany’s value chain. Diamond FutureSmart – building next generation operations With diamond deposits getting older, deeper and a lot harder and more expensive to mine, De Beers Group is focused on implementing “the best and smartest technology” to help deliver on its projects. According to Marc Lincoln, project

Marc Lincoln Project Manager Diamond FutureSmart Mining.

Illustration of Chidliak Future Smart Mine.

March 2022  MODERN MINING  19