De Beers says Venetia underground project delayed by a year - report

De Beers said the initial plan at Venetia’s underground project in South Africa was delayed by about 12 months.
The delay was attributed to regulatory and approval procedures.
Mining Weekly quoted the group as saying that its project team had nevertheless “advanced well and already halved the backlog”, despite the setback.
Shaft sinking had been underway since March this year when the first blast for the decline was conducted.
The decline tunneling had already advanced to 70 m by June 10, reports Mining Weekly.
Current production of Venetia’s surface mining operations was 6 Mt/y of kimberlite.
De Beers said the waste-stripping production to open up reserves for mining is currently 40 to 42 Mt/y.
Waste stripping would continue during the remainder of openpit production until ore from underground operations begins to flow in 2021, it said.
The decline development will continue unabated down to 1 000 m.
The company expects the project to cost $2-billion during the building phase.
Underground operations would begin production in 2021, yielding about 96 million carats during the life of the mine.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished