More than two decades after innovating its first sub-sea crawler technology for diamond recovery, De Beers Group’s Upstream Technology business has developed a next generation of advanced subsea diamond recovery crawlers.

The unit, developed for Debmarine Namibia’s flagship vessel Benguela Gem, marks a significant leap in marine diamond recovery capability, according to Rudi Agostinho, Next Generation Crawler (NGC) Project Manager at Upstream Technology in Cape Town. After almost four years of development, the crawler has been installed on the vessel and is recovering diamonds off the coast of Namibia. 

A second identical unit is already being assembled ready to take over operations during scheduled servicing of the first, ensuring minimal downtime. Agostinho says the next generation crawler represents a careful blend of cutting-edge automation, precision engineering and lessons from decades of operational experience. 

“We have taken everything we have learned from earlier models and engineered a crawler that can operate with significantly enhanced efficiency, with greater reliability,” he says. He says the upgrade allows the Benguela Gem to boost its effective rates by approximately 20% with minimal increase to operating cost. This extra capacity means the vessel can now fully benefit from the throughput capability of its onboard treatment plant.

The new crawler is larger than its predecessors, weighing 370 tonnes and measuring 28 metres long and 8 metres high and wide. With a sweeping mining arm that covers a 21 metre arc in just 25 seconds, it includes several powerful systems.

The crawler operates between 100 and 135 metres below the surface,  drawing a combination of seawater, sand, gravel and diamond-bearing material through an 800 mm diameter pipeline. 

Sebastian “Bas” van der Laer, Mining System Specialist at Upstream Technology, says the goal was to push engineering availability from 82% to 87%, supporting the drive for extra production.

He points to the crawler’s new track tensioning system as a key innovation, where a hydraulic tensioning system automatically adjusts as conditions change. This reduces wear, extends the life of the track chain and improves gearbox torque.

Technology Development Manager Imraan Parker says automation has been central to embedding consistent best-practice operation into the crawler. 

“Automation enables more predictable performance and better control over the stresses on the machine which in turn extends its structural life,” he explains. The high level of automation also extends to deployment of the crawler from the vessel. 

Among the features is a forward-looking sonar system that provides clear images of the seabed allowing operators to recover right down to the footwall. 

At Upstream Technology’s Cape Town facility, the building of the larger crawler led to other innovations. Senior Workshop Engineering Officer Abdul-Gameed Davids points to the lifting of the 47 tonne dredge motor into the crawler frame with two synchronised overhead cranes – a method now formalised for future builds.

Getting the completed crawler to the harbour took careful planning, according to Senior Project Engineer Steven Smith. Once at the dock, a 750-tonne crane hoisted the crawler onto the quay.

Before going to sea, the crawler underwent full-scale land-based simulations to test all systems under realistic loads. The machine contains over 2,2 km of cabling and more than 10,000 connections, each of which was verified before departure. Close collaboration with Debmarine Namibia’s operational team during assembly meant feedback from the vessel’s own operating crew could be incorporated. 

Agostinho highlights that the next generation crawler provides a robust platform for the future of marine diamond recovery.

“By combining advanced tools, adaptive systems, automation and predictive maintenance, we have delivered a crawler that will recover more material, more consistently, with less downtime – even in tougher conditions,” he says.

As the mining industry continues to evolve, De Beers Group is leading the charge in reshaping what inclusion and representation look like across its operations. In a sector traditionally dominated by men, De Beers is purposefully dismantling barriers to ensure that women not only participate but thrive.

Driven by the belief that gender equity is integral to long term business success, De Beers is committed to increasing female representation across its workforce. In South Africa, the company is already showing measurable progress with women making up 33% of Top Management and 36% of Senior Management – figures that significantly exceed current industry averages.

“Transformation is not just a compliance obligation for us, itis a business imperative,” Coral Wheelock, Senior Vice President – People Partnering, Mining and Discovery at De Beers, says. “Gender diversity improves innovation, strengthens safety outcomes and builds high performing teams.”

To accelerate its progress, De Beers has taken a strategic and holistic approach. This includes a longstanding partnership with UN Women through the HeForShe Alliance, with a focus on growing female representation in technical and leadership roles. 

Locally, targeted talent acquisition and development initiatives are central to the strategy. These include prioritising women for apprenticeships, awarding bursaries to female students and launching leadership and mentorship programmes tailored to women at various career stages.

Importantly, De Beers recognises that inclusion must be embedded in the workplace culture and infrastructure. The company has introduced gender-sensitive PPE, improved on-site facilities, implemented flexible work policies and provided enhanced maternity support. Safety is also a priority, with upgrades to lighting, transport and security on mine sites.

“Mining has historically been an exclusionary space for women,” Wheelock says. “We have had to be deliberate in changing that – creating environments that support women’s participation and growth, both in the field and at the leadership table.”

Beyond its internal workforce, De Beers is extending its gender equity efforts into its supply chain by promoting women-owned businesses through procurement policies. The company is also investing in the future pipeline, having awarded over 100 STEM bursaries to young women in Canada and engaging more than 6,700 girls globally through education outreach.

Wheelock’s own career journey – rising through the ranks of De Beers – exemplifies the opportunities that inclusive leadership can unlock. Under her guidance, together with collective leadership accountability, the company has embedded equity, diversity and inclusion into its culture.

“True transformation demands more than good intentions. It takes sustained action, accountability and leadership,” she says. “We are committed to creating pathways for women to lead and succeed, because the future of mining depends on it.”

As diamond-producing countries look to add further local value through downstream beneficiation, De Beers’ Shining Light Awards programme will highlight the most talented youth and give them a foot-up into the jewellery business.

While the global consumer market is flooded with luxury goods, De Beers is challenging entrants to re-define luxury, says the company’s Beneficiation Manager, Kagiso Fredericks.

“For the millennial generation, the Shining Light Awards programme provide an empowering opportunity to define their own sense of luxury through diamond jewellery design,” says Fredericks. “The focus on youth helps to capture emerging creativity and to promote the transformation of the sector.”

The awards programme is seeking submissions from entrants in all four of the countries where De Beers has mining operations: Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. In each country, there will be a first, second and third prize.

“To encourage entrants, we engage with schools, universities and other institutions who train, support or incubate young jewellery designers,” he explains. “We develop and present a set of criteria which entrants must adhere to, and they have three months to generate and submit designs according to the requirements – with the help of their teachers, lecturers and mentors.”

Fredericks explains that the judging process is independent and highly demanding. The judging panel is selected from experts in the jewellery industry and related fields, and it must score each design submission according to the pre-defined criteria. Each applicant is identified only by a number, so those submitting designs remains anonymous until the first, second and third place in each country is chosen. In the first round of assessments, the top five scores are determined for each country. Further deliberations among the judges then leads to the selection of the best three of the five top scorers.

“The aim of the awards programme is to build the levels of expertise of our winners, as well as support their future directions within the jewellery sector,” he explains. “In past years, therefore, the prizes have included scholarships to leading institutions abroad, as well as internships that help young designers to boost their progress in their chosen directions.”

Through collaboration with its Sightholders, De Beers has also been able to help facilitate the creation and commercialisation of jewellery based on some of the winning designs.

“Our customers remain an integral part of the Shining Light Awards, as sight holders have been important sponsors behind turning designs into actual items of jewellery,” he says.

The awards have also been able to support small jewellery manufacturers and distributors, helping to open doors into the sector and to introduce vibrant new entrants with creative energy. This, he highlights, has been achieved through De Beers’ engagement with important industry stakeholders like the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator, and the South African Diamond Manufacturers Association.

Fredericks concludes that the Shining Light Awards programme also encourages educational institutions who may not already have modern design resources – like computer aided design (CAD) software and courses – to acquire these facilities.

“When these schools commit themselves to join the awards process, this often pushes them to go the extra mile,” he says. “In many cases, they find ways to make these facilities available, and even to offer skills like CAD as a more central aspect of their teaching.”

At the end of December 2023, De Beers’ Venetia Mine near Musina celebrated reaching 10,2 million Fatality Free shifts, a remarkable achievement as it transitions from open pit to underground operations.

The challenging journey to date has included reskilling the company’s open pit employees for underground operations, while coordinating the many contractors working to implement the ambitious Venetia Underground Project (VUP). Gavin Anderson, Senior Manager for Safety and Sustainable Development at Venetia, says the vision of ‘Pioneering a Brilliant Future for Venetia Mine’ needed a bold and innovative approach to safety. 

This challenging task was underpinned by a very comprehensive risk management programme – but there was a difference: instead of focusing on safety risk, the decision was made to take everyone on a personal journey towards safely creating one Venetia Mine.

“We developed our own holistic approach to operational risk management,” he says. “Rather than focusing purely on safety or on occupational health and hygiene, we have worked on giving employees a psychologically safe workplace in which to operate.” 

He explains that ‘psychological safety’ is a concept that moves away from a focus on management, and towards a new appreciation of leadership. Where leaders demonstrate care for their employees, he argues, then companies can drive safe production. 

“Traditionally, a manager would pursue safety compliance through checking that certain standards and procedures were in place,” says Anderson. “A psychologically safe workplace, however, is where employees feel free to speak up when they believe a procedure or risk assessment is not adding the necessary value to their safety efforts.”

From this foundation, employees can engage directly with leadership and there can be collaborative efforts to design and apply safety improvements. He notes that, once the right environment is created, more effective safety interventions and tools can be applied. One such initiative at Venetia is the Safety Sentry, in which each team elects a sentry to capture and communicate the safety observations of his colleagues during that shift. 

Using a tablet to record images, conversations or videos underground, the Safety Sentry is able to highlight areas where improvements can be made at the workface. Leveraging digital communication technology, this data is uploaded to a manager who can view, assess and take forward the observations or suggestions – both with the team and senior management. 

Another important avenue for Venetia’s safety approach is to remind employees of their families’ love for and reliance on them. A recent campaign asked employees’ family members to send video clips urging them to come home safely from work to enjoy the Christmas season – with these personal messages being played on screens in the workplace. 

“Focusing on the human component has given Venetia Mine the edge in terms of shifting safety practices,” concludes Anderson. 

2022 sustainability report highlights milestones in climate ambition and ethical leadership of the diamond industry

De Beers Group today provided an update on progress toward its 2030 ‘Building Forever’ sustainability goals. The goals were set in 2020 and are De Beers’ blueprint for creating a positive and sustainable impact in its host countries and throughout the diamond value chain. They span four pillars: leading ethical practices, partnering for thriving communities, protecting the natural world, and accelerating equal opportunity.

During 2022, De Beers saw advances across all four Building Forever pillars and all 12 goals, which included reductions in water use and energy intensity, innovations in diamond tracing technology, increased representation of women in senior leadership and progress toward its climate commitments.

A notable milestone was setting emission reduction targets across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, which have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). De Beers’ near-term SBTi-validated targets are to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions 42 percent by 2030 and to reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions 25 percent within the same timeframe. In setting the targets across all three scopes, De Beers is extending its climate ambition over and above its existing commitment to be carbon neutral across Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

The SBTi-validated targets represent the reductions required by the organisation to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. However, under its existing carbon neutral commitment and with the implementation of its ‘Reduce and Replace’ strategy, DeBeers expects to exceed its SBTi-validated targets for reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

De Beers also accelerated the pace of innovation and investment in its blockchain provenance platform, Tracr. The platform was deployed at scale in 2022 and enables participants to provide assurance of a diamond’s source as it travels through the value chain. More than half of De Beers’ global production by value is now being registered on Tracr, which was recently named by Forbes as one of the world’s 50 leading blockchains for the third time.

Al Cook, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “De Beers has a simple belief that informs everything we do: the diamonds we discover belong to the communities and countries in which they are found. We are inspired by the beauty and rarity of natural diamonds and the natural world, and we know how precious diamonds are – not  only  for  the  people  who  wear  them,  but  for  all  those  they  touch  along  the  way.

“Building Forever is about taking a long-term view. We work hand-in-hand with the communities in which we live and work to shape a better future. Our actions range from addressing the climate crisis to growing prosperity wherever we operate. And by using our proprietary technologies, we can now connect our customers to the origin, impact and stories of their diamonds. Building Forever will continue to guide every decision De Beers makes and touch every diamond we discover.”

The 2022 sustainability report provides a detailed overview of the Building Forever pillars and goals, along with key progress toward each –a summary of which follows:

Leading ethical practices

De Beers is committed to advancing industry standards, enhancing the transparency of diamond provenance and improving the livelihoods ofartisanal miners.

Key highlights include:

• Increased the number of entities participating in the Best Practice Principles, the company’s set of leading ethical, social and environmental standards which are independently audited, to 2,690 from 2,283 in 2021.
• Launched the Tracr blockchain platform at scale, enabling diamond origin to be immutably recorded from source to store. More than half of De Beers’ global rough diamond production by value is now being registered on Tracr.
• Increased the number of mine sites participating in GemFair, De Beers’ programme to support the formalisation of the artisanal mining sector, to 263 from 219 in 2021. The programme also provided fair and equitable finance to support the operations of 49 members.

Protecting the natural world

De Beers understands that for its business and host communities to thrive, it must protect the natural world. In all of its activities, De Beers follows best practices for biodiversity and water management, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and mine closure and rehabilitation.

Key highlights include:

• Achieved a 14 percent reduction in freshwater withdrawals and a four percent reduction in energy intensity compared with 2021.
• In partnership with Anglo American and EDF Renewables, commenced development of more than 70 MW of renewable energy projects in southern Africa.
• Invested $2 million in Kelp Blue, a start-up that grows underwater kelp forests off the coast of Namibia, which can absorb carbon up to 50 times faster than land-based forests. In addition to supporting De Beers’ carbon neutral commitment, KelpBlue will also create jobs and support sustainable economic development in Namibia.
• Marked the 20th anniversary of the Diamond Route, the 500,000-acre network of conservation sites that De Beers manages across southern Africa, protecting more than 50 mammal species.
• Continued Okavango Eternal, a partnership with National Geographic to protect the critically important headwards of the Okavango Delta. Progress included installing innovative water monitoring technology, deepening research and understanding, and engaging with communities on soil-friendly farming methods.

Partnering for thriving communities

De Beers is focused on working with a range of stakeholders to help build a sustainable future and contribute to a better quality of life in its host communities, with particular emphasis on health and wellbeing, education and skills development, economic diversification, and livelihood support.

Key highlights include:

• Marked two decades since the introduction of De Beers’ pioneering HIV programme to provide free and confidential treatment to employees and their families living with HIV and AIDS. The programme has helped to save an estimated 650 lives during this time and has also ensured there have been no cases of mother-to-child HIV transmission among De Beers employees or their partners for 14 consecutive years.
• In collaboration with Right to Care, rolled out a community-oriented primary care partnership to strengthen medical clinics in southern Africa, prioritising areas that lacked medical provision.

• Supported 420 students in securing 12-month internships in different sectors through a partnership with InternationalYouth Foundation.
• A total of 18 southern Africa-based companies completed the Stanford Seed Transformation entrepreneurship program that De Beers supports in partnership with Stanford University.
• In total, more than 3,340 jobs were supported by De Beers through various socioeconomic development projects and initiatives and 71 percent of its goods and services were procured from local suppliers.

Accelerating equal opportunity

De Beers is focused on accelerating economic inclusion and supporting diverse voices to help shape the future of its business, host communities and society at large, with a particular focus on addressing the historical underrepresentation of women in its talent pipeline and encouraging fresh and diverse talent into the diamond jewellery sector.

Key highlights include:

• At the end of 2022, women comprised 33 percent of senior management positions within De Beers Group (up from 31 percent in 2021).
• Extended the partnership with WomEng, a highly regarded social enterprise committed to helping women and girls pursue careers in engineering and technology, for another three years.
• Since 2018, De Beers has provided 89 scholarships to women studying STEM at universities in Canada, has reached more than 3,700 school students in southern Africa through STEM workshops, and has supported more than 2,400 women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
• Provided funding for a free 12-week jewellery making course for teens in New York City, which aims to fill the void of limited access to jewellery studios for teenage designers. De Beers also established an internal Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)Council bringing volunteers from across the business to deepen understanding of the company’s diverse workforce and further cultivate an inclusive culture.

De Beers Group’s full 2022 sustainability report is available to read here.

De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa (DBSSSA) officially unveiled its new rough diamond sorting, valuation and sales facility in Johannesburg today at an event attended by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, Gauteng MEC of Economic Development, Tasneem Motara, and De Beers Group CEO, Al Cook.

De Beers Group announced in January 2023 that it was relocating its Sightholder Sales activities in South Africa from Kimberley, where it has been operating since 1974, to Johannesburg following a review of its sorting activities in South Africa. The relocation supports the government’s strategy to consolidate the country’s mineral beneficiation sector into one area at the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone, close to the OR Tambo International Airport. 

The relocation also supports the company’s evolving footprint in the country over the past decade, with the world class Venetia mine in the Limpopo Province being its only active mine.  With no mining activities in the Northern Cape since 2015, De Beers is consolidating its remaining operations to be in close proximity to provide efficiency in operating costs, greater effectiveness and to contribute towards the country’s national beneficiation agenda.

A total of 87 employees were successfully relocated from Kimberley to the new 6747 m² facility in Sky Park Industrial in Johannesburg, which has two floors comprising Sightholder offices, hand and machine sorting areas, a training academy and a diamond cleaning plant.

Honourable Gwede Mantashe, Minister of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, said: “Whilst we congratulate De Beers for the grand opening of the Sightholder Sales facility, we also welcome the R35 billion investment in the unground mining in Limpopo. We encourage you to continue investing in South African mining, particularly in the Northern Cape and other Provinces. Doing so will help us change the economic architecture which stands on three legs Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.”

DBSSSA is part of the Global Sightholder Sales network that sells rough diamonds for beneficiation purposes in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Canada.  It is also responsible for the distribution of De Beers rough diamonds in South Africa and seeks to support the industry at large in maintaining a sustainable diamond manufacturing industry through its beneficiation strategy.

The beneficiation strategy is aligned to the South Africa government’s local beneficiation objectives and engages in a range of activities that aim to support and further the country’s economic goals.  These include skills development, enterprise development, industry development, as well as marketing and promotion of South Africa abroad.

In South Africa, DBSSSA has nine Sightholders that it sells rough diamonds to 10 times a year. The consistent and predictable supply of rough diamonds to South African Sightholders supports their ability to invest in local cutting and polishing factories and together, they have employed 620 cutters and polishers since 2020. 

Last year, De Beers Group and several key industry players – including the SA Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator, the SA Diamond Manufacturers Association, the SA Diamond Dealers Club and the State Diamond Trader – partnered to launch a Small Beneficiator Customers (SBC) pilot programme with seven identified cutting and polishing businesses receiving assistance.

The objective of this programme is to broaden supply and access of rough diamonds to small South African owned beneficiation companies. To further assist emerging businesses with access to affordable rough diamond parcels, De Beers Group is offering SBCs parcels of diamonds consisting of an aggregated mix of diamonds from its mines in Namibia, Botswana, Canada and South Africa. 

The SBC programme follows the successful launch of the Enterprise Development Project for Diamond Beneficiators in 2016, which saw one of its alumni companies, Molefi Letsiki Diamonds, becoming the first majority black owned South African Sightholder for the De Beers Group. Nungu Diamond, a company that was also part of the first cohort, entered into a partnership with Pluczenik, a De Beers Group Sightholder, to establish Pluczenik SA, headed by Nungu Diamond’s owner Kealeboga Pule.   

Now in its second cohort, the Enterprise Development Project aims to facilitate the growth and transformation of diamond beneficiation in South Africa.  The focus is on delivering this through a holistic approach that seeks to optimise interventions in all aspects of the diamond pipeline from rough diamond purchasing, state of the art manufacturing of diamonds and jewellery, to marketing and distribution.

To date, 10 diamond cutting and polishing companies have benefitted from the ground-breaking Enterprise Development Project, with 60% of these companies being women owned and 80% black owned. Each participating company received an allocation of rough diamonds from De Beers Group, in line with their market requirements and capacity. In addition, the project facilitated local and international market access and sponsored their participation at international trade shows, including the Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair and JCK Las Vegas. 

Moses Madondo, Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations, said: “South Africa is a significant source of rough diamonds and aside from helping to upskill the industry, it is important for us as diamond producers to assist small beneficiation customers with access to affordable parcels of rough diamonds. We are excited to now be located in the beneficiation hub where we can continue working with our partners to further support the local beneficiation industry. South Africa is sharply focused on being internationally competitive, and with government’s support as envisaged through the GIDZ, the country is well placed to support the growth of its beneficiation sector.”    

De Beers has devised an autonomous mining roadmap for its Venetia Underground Mine (VUG) that will – once fully implemented – result in the new US$2 billion mine becoming one of the most mechanised and automated mining operations in the world. 

The VUG replaces openpit operations at the Venetia Diamond Mine and extends mine life to at least 2046. Expected to start production within 2023, it will use the sub-level cave mining method.

According to Giel Marais, Principal Automation & Information at De Beers, the objective in terms of automation at the Venetia Underground Mine (VUG) is to have a number of autonomous mining systems performing multiple mining processes by 2027.

“This is an ambitious goal but we believe achievable given the major technological advances made in recent years, particularly by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who produce underground mining machines,” he says. “In the case of the VUG, our primary technology partner is Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, which manufactures a full range of ‘intelligent’ mining machines that can operate independently underground within access controlled safety zones or be remotely operated from control rooms on surface.”

Marais’ colleague, Freddie Breed, Underground Technical Services Manager at De Beers, points out that the group has previous experience of autonomous mining. “De Beers commissioned the first – and only – automated trucking loop in South Africa, and one of the first worldwide, at the Finsch diamond mine in the Northern Cape in 2005,” he says. “

Marais says that while the Finsch system was revolutionary it was also limited in some respects. “The system was limited to one machine type – articulated dump trucks (ADTs) – performing one process, namely hauling, on a single level of the mine,” he explains. “By contrast, at the VUG we will eventually have a number of mining systems operational, with a variety of machines, not just ADTs, executing multiple mining processes within the same operational area. These systems will be deployed and operating simultaneously during a shift on different levels of the mine.”

The implementation of automation at the VUG will be carefully phased in on an incremental basis starting with automated machines (which still require an onboard operator although many functions are automated). Next to be introduced will be autonomous machines (which do not require an onboard operator as they are equipped with automated machine navigation and tramming and can perform – while stationary in one location – most sets of routine functions without operator input required during the cycle). The final phase of implementation will see the introduction of full autonomous mining systems.

The key characteristic of autonomous mining systems is the use of multiple autonomous machines which are managed by an integrated central traffic management system. The machines operate in predefined safety zones that are dynamically combined to create autonomous operating areas.

Autonomous mining not only creates a safer and healthier environment for workers (by removing them from potential high risk areas of the mine) but, if implemented correctly, is also more productive than traditional techniques when measured in terms of output against available operating time. 

Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions is supplying all the primary mining equipment for the VUP for both mine development and production. This includes machines for development and production drilling, rock reinforcement, and loading and hauling. Sandvik is also providing its AutoMine® system for the remote operation of loaders and trucks and its OptiMine® system for machine health monitoring, task management and location tracking. 

As one of the first steps in its automation journey, the VUG is about to commission a pilot project which will prepare the production team for the use of remote loading at the drawpoints and autonomous tramming to the tip. With cave mining, there is a risk of mud-rushes and water ingress at drawpoints and remote loading will allow material to be loaded without putting operators at risk.

“This pilot project will have a single loader operating under AutoMine® Lite in a dedicated area on 44 Level that is isolated from other areas of the mine,” says Breed. “The machine will be controlled locally from a mobile tele-remote station just outside the autonomous operating area and not from surface.”

He adds that an integrated operations centre on surface at Venetia Mine is under construction and that it will be equipped and commissioned in H1-2023.

One the challenges facing De Beers as it implements its US$2,2 billion Venetia Underground Project (VUP) in South Africa’s Limpopo Province is the training of its employees – and new recruits – to allow them to acquire the necessary skills to successfully transition from open pit mining to underground mining.

The VUP involves the development of one of the world’s most advanced underground mines. Highly mechanised, it will employ the sub-level caving method to mine up to 6 Mt/a of kimberlite ore to produce between 4,5 and 5,5 million carats a year of diamonds. Once the VUP’s ramp-up is completed, the underground workforce will number around 850 people.

While the caving method to be deployed at Venetia Mine is well established (De Beers used essentially the same method at its Finsch mine in the Northern Cape when it owned and operated it until it was sold in 2011), very few of its employees at Venetia Mine have any experience of it. Not only will they have to adapt to the very different demands of an underground mining environment as they transition to the VUP but they will also have to learn the very specific skills associated with highly mechanised sub-level cave mining.

To expedite the required training, De Beers has now commissioned a training facility at Venetia able to accommodate e-learning facilities for 65 learners and classroom sessions for 95 learners at any one time. The facility represents a total investment of R188 million. At its heart are five training rooms, all with video walls and servers, as well as sophisticated mobile machine simulators.

An underground simulation area will have an emergency rescue bay and control room able to replicate situations occurring underground that could require evacuation while a virtual reality blast wall will give trainees the opportunity to mark up and charge a face.

All training will be managed by a comprehensive training management system offering modules for self-paced learning. The system is integrated into the mine’s human resources information system.

The simulators – supplied by Thoroughtec – allow operators to be trained on the Sandvik equipment – primarily trucks, loaders, drill rigs and bolters – that has been selected for the VUP. Most of the machines are classed as ‘intelligent’, meaning that they can deliver data continuously to on-surface control rooms and can be operated remotely. The simulator training is complemented by a TMM (trackless mobile machine) mock-up area on surface. Trainees will spend 15 hours in the mock-up.

As a follow-up to the training received at the training centre, De Beers has partnered with mining contractor Redpath to further enhance the skills of TMM operators. A contingent of Redpath personnel – who will be on site for the next four years – will assist with skills transfer on some of the key mechanised equipment and ensure that safety and performance levels of operators are up to the required standards.

While the training centre will focus on imparting core underground mining and TMM skills to trainees, De Beers has also developed a training package which allows both technical and non-technical personnel to familiarise themselves with the sub-level caving method. The content has been converted and incorporated into the electronic learning platform.

The sub-level caving training material has been split into 10 modules covering, amongst others, subjects such as mine design and sequencing; drill and blast; cave propagation and subsidence; cave management; and caving hazards and hazard management.

The training centre and other training initiatives at Venetia Mine all form part of De Beers’ operational readiness framework, which is designed to facilitate a smooth migration from open-pit to underground mining in terms of people, processes and systems.

De Beers is making good progress on the installation of a comprehensive water management system at its Venetia Underground Project (VUP) in Limpopo Province. 

Costing US$2,2 billion to develop, the VUP will see an ultra-modern sub-level cave mine replacing the current open pit operations, which are due to cease shortly after being in production continuously since the mine opened in the early 1990s.

The cave mining method allows underground mines to achieve the same type of production rates that are normally associated with open pit mines and this is the case at Venetia. Once in full production, the VUP will produce approximately 6 Mt/a ROM to deliver between 4,5 and 5,5 million carats of diamonds a year. These figures are similar to those which have been typically achieved by the open pit operations at Venetia.

The new underground mine is located directly beneath the current open pit. Given that it is a caving operation, water ingress from the pit into the mine, particularly at times of heavy rainfall, is a risk which has to be carefully managed. 

The methods used to mitigate the risk include the installation of an extensive pumping system, as well as the construction of water control doors which will be activated if inflows exceed the capacity of the pumping system. 

The frames of the water doors are each about 8 m high and 7 m wide. The doors are 1 m thick and are designed to hold back a 100 m head of water. They will effectively seal off the ‘dry’ side of the mine, where the water pumps and other critical infrastructure are located, from the ‘wet’ side where the kimberlite is located.

In terms of the pumping systems, a major milestone was achieved in January 2022 with the completion of Pump System 2, which has the capacity to pump 100 litres/second (360 m³/h) out of the mine from a depth of 540 m. It has increased the mine dewatering capacity threefold and allows for active dewatering of the mine groundwater, which is recharged during the rainy season which runs from roughly December through to March.

The system consists of underground pump stations situated on 54-level and 46-level, as well as a pump station located in the K01 open pit on Bench No 27, which pumps to the open pit dewatering pump station located on Bench No 15.

A challenge on Pump System 2 was the installation of two pipe columns which connect the pump stations in the open pit and which are routed 120 m up the pit wall. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to install the columns, the installation method being used was reviewed and adjusted, with the new procedure adopted proving very successful.

Construction is now well underway on Pump System 1 with commissioning expected by mid-year. This system will add a further 40 litres/second (144 m³/h) of pumping capacity and involves the construction of a further two pump stations underground on 46-level and 54-level and one on the surface at Terrace 3 together with all interconnecting pipework.

Pump Systems 1 and 2 are interim water pumping solutions until the main pump station in constructed on 56-level. This is scheduled for completion in Q3 2023. Once it is in operation, the full pumping capacity will be 4 500 m³/h.

Construction of the first water door is currently in progress and it has had an extensive engineering review to ensure the integrity of the installation. The door is secured by 40 mm rock anchors, 234 in total, which are each about 2,5 m long and pinned 1,5 m deep into the host rock.

In total, six water doors must be installed before December 2022 to allow first ore production from the VUP to start by the end of the year. The installation of the water doors will therefore be a major focus for the underground construction team over the next several months.

An interesting point is that De Beers has invested R70 million in a new weather station at Venetia. This is linked to South African Weather Services and will give timely warning of heavy rainfall events and enable the mine to prepare in advance for possible excessive water ingress.