South Africa’s largest diamond mine, the De Beers-owned Venetia, situated in the Limpopo Province (approximately 80 km west of Musina and 36 km east of Alldays) is expected to take the mine underground at a capital cost of R6.5 billion. Underground operations will access resources at an increased depth of about 1 000m below the surface. The features of the first phase of the expansion included new earthmoving vehicles (EMVs), a new primary crusher and a new fines residue deposit facility, as well as associated infrastructure, which includes a new filling station and a 1 310-m2 extension to the existing EMV workshop. The ramp-up infrastructure for Cut 4 will take the Venetia mine to 2014. Phase one is Complete. Phase two of the expansion will tackle the requirements for the ramp up to Cut 5, which will take the mine to 2021.
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