The De Beers Group of Companies announced last week that it will invest approximately R20 billion (US$2 billion) to build a new underground mine beneath the currently operating open-pit Venetia Mine north of the Soutpansberg.

When completed, the new underground mine will extend the life of Venetia until 2042 and replace the open pit as South Africa’s largest diamond mine. This announcement follows the receipt of the final outstanding regulatory clearances earlier this month.

The development and building phase of the underground mine is expected to create 1 000 jobs over the next nine years while open-pit mining operations continue. Underground operations will begin production in 2021, yielding approximately 96 million carats during the life of the mine, and securing more than 3 000 jobs. The project will employ semi-skilled and skilled workers, drawn primarily from the region and trained for the project, who will mostly be acquiring technical skills that will enhance the country’s technical skills resource base. The bulk of all equipment and services will be sourced in South Africa.

“Our investment in Venetia enables us to provide greater certainty around long-term supply for our sightholders, particularly those with manufacturing operations in South Africa. Our sightholders have significant investments in the local cutting industry and this new underground mine will provide a large and predictable supply of rough diamonds for decades to come,” said Philippe Mellier, CEO of the De Beers Group, in a press release.

Barend Petersen, chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), said they saw this significant capital investment as another concrete example of their commitment to the South African mining industry, an industry on which the South African economy was built, following the discovery of diamonds in 1866. “Almost 150 years later, the country is a diverse economy, while mining remains an integral part of the aspiration to build a more prosperous and equitable South Africa,” Petersen said.

The De Beers Venetia underground-project team has been assessing the safest and most economic options to extend the mining operations at Venetia and unlock the extensive ore reserves beneath the open pit.

“Venetia will play a major role in the future of De Beers and we have therefore been preparing for years to meet tight deadlines and high standards, so that Venetia Underground will be ready to begin producing South African diamonds by 2021,” said Phillip Barton, CEO of DBCM.

The Venetia Mine underground project was approved in 2012 by the De Beers and Anglo American Boards. Environmental authorisation was granted in July 2012, and the Environmental Management Plan was approved by the Department of Mineral Resources in October. The final outstanding regulatory clearances were obtained earlier this month.