The Venetia Underground Project (VUP) is located in Limpopo, south Africa. The project is owned by the company Anglo American, which has De Beers Consolidated Mines as subsidiary. Venetia is currently the biggest diamond mine development under way anywhere in the world.
The mine is an open pit operation; however, following shareholder approval, development work started in late 2013 to build the new underground mining operation beneath the current operating open pit. The VUP will extend the mine life to 2046 and yield 82-million carats from about 115-million tonnes of material.
The project comprises the K01 and K02 orebodies. Both kimberlites extend below surface, enabling De Beers to mine to depths of up to 1 000 m. There are indications that K01 extends below 1 000 m, and De Beers may explore options to extend the underground operation’s life beyond 2046. More so, the K02 orebody measures 200 m × 300 m(Barradas, n.d.).
Concerning the energy plant, its sizing is yet to be finalised.
