Case Study

Venetia Underground Project - Diamond Mine

Wall of diamond mine with machinery in the foreground

Advisian and WorleyParsons completed an advanced feasibility study for the proposed underground expansion of the current operations.

The Situation

The Venetia Mine in Limpopo is  De Beer’s largest  mine  in South  Africa, and  the biggest  source  of rough diamonds in the country. A new underground mine will be built beneath the current operating open pit and will extend the life of Venetia Mine from between 2018 and 2021 to beyond 2040. 

Access to the underground mine will be via two vertical shafts and a decline tunnel from surface. The depth of the vertical shafts is 1040m below surface. 

The project includes  all  necessary  rock  handling  systems,  ventilation systems,  water  handling  systems  and  all  required  surface  infrastructure  to  support  underground mining. 

Approach

Advisian and WorleyParsons completed an advanced feasibility study for the proposed underground expansion of the current operations. 

We utilised 3D designs for the entire mine and infrastructure on the vertical shaft, leading to fully-integrated, intelligent models being created with a newly developed methodology suitable for vertical shaft and underground mine design.

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