SOUTH AFRICAN SUPPLIERS
The resourceful rainbow nation
Having geographically diversified when domestic demand waned , South Africa mining suppliers are now ready to serve a reinvigorated local market
The new underground mine at De Beers ’ Venetia diamond operation will treat around 130 Mt of ore , containing an estimated 96 Mct
It is easy to look back and reflect on what South Africa has lost in terms of its mining legacy , yet there are many reasons to be positive about the country ’ s resource-rich future .
A new political leader , more considered mining policy and favourable outlook for many of the metals the country is endowed with is seeing investment return to the sector .
Among the long list of base and precious metal developments in the pipeline are Orion Minerals Prieska copper-zinc project , Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining ’ s Platreef project and the Waterberg PGM project .
One of the higher-profile investments made in recent years in South Africa has come from the De Beers Group , which back in 2013 started construction of the $ 2 billion Venetia Underground project .
Located in the Limpopo province , Venetia has historically accounted for 40 % of the country ’ s annual diamond production , with the conversion to underground mining set to extend the life of mine to beyond 2040 .
The new underground mine will treat around 130 Mt of ore , containing an estimated 96 Mct , according to De Beers , which is majority owned by Anglo American .
Back in late October , Allan Rodel , Venetia Underground Project Director at De Beers Group , told IM that the project was largely on track , with overall progress at 40 % against a plan of 41 % for 2020 . The slippage of 1 %, he
said , was primarily at the bottom of mine development where resourcing challenges were experienced with the post-COVID-19 ramp-up schedule . The issues causing the progress miss had been addressed and productivity was showing improvement , he added .
Good progress had been made on the surface infrastructure facilities – which includes change houses , control rooms , ventilation infrastructure , winder houses , electrical infrastructure and a state-of-the-art training centre – with Rodel expecting most of this work to be completed by early 2021 .
In November , De Beers announced it had entered into a Mining Service Agreement with Redpath Australia and Redpath Mining South Africa for the project , laying the foundation for achieving the company ’ s goal “ of selfperforming all its future underground mining operations ”.
As part of the contract , Redpath would provide specialist personnel , training systems and operational processes to train , upskill and guide the De Beers workforce to achieve an international level of performance and capability in underground mechanised mining , the company explained .
This will initially involve about 70-90 skilled personnel from Redpath being brought in to bolster the performance of the mine in its operational execution . Over the course of the four-year contract , Redpath ’ s personnel will decrease as skills are transferred to the De Beers workforce .
These four years are critical for the project to achieve the key milestone of delivering its first ore production in 2022 , De Beers said . To achieve this , the project will need to increase its development profile to 1,500 m / mth , as well as increase ore production to a total of 6 Mt / y .
Mine production is still a way off , with Rodel saying initial equipping of the production shaft at Venetia is currently being carried out by contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation following completion of sinking activities down to around 1,060 m .
“ The piping , as well as electrical and communication cabling , has already been installed from surface to the lowest level , which is approximately 1,000 m below surface ,” he said . “ The full shaft equipping will commence post some modifications in the headgear to remove the sinking steel work and insert the new permanent steel work .”
The equipping , along with the installation of ground handling systems on surface and at the bottom of the mine , will take around two years to complete , according to Rodel . This will enable ore hoisting to be conducted within the production shaft at 50 % of nameplate capacity , as well as provide the capability to transport personnel and materials .
In terms of the service shaft , sinking stopped at the 100 level , around 1,000 m below surface , to enable the lateral development of the bottom of the mine while the production shaft was being equipped .
JANUARY 2021 | International Mining 33