Modern Mining September 2017

DIAMONDS

Venetia Underground Project

With a new Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) project delivery model in place, the Venetia Underground Project (VUP) – the biggest single investment ever by De Beers in South Africa – is continuing to make excellent progress. Not only is it running on time and within budget but there are also options being considered that will accelerate production by at least a year. Modern Mining recently spoke to Christoff Kϋhn, Head of VUP, De Beers Consolidated Mines, and Robert Hull, Project Director for the EPCM contractor, WorleyParsons, to learn more about the current status of the US$2,1 billion project, which will extend the life of Venetia well into the 2040s.

Seen here (from left) are Christoff Kϋhn, Head of VUP, De Beers Consolidated Mines, and Robert Hull, Project Director for WorleyParsons RSA. ect award received by WorleyParsons RSA. In pure shaft-sinking terms, the VUP is also notable. It is one of only a handful of deep shaft complexes currently under construc- tion worldwide and is also seeing the deploy- ment for the first time in South Africa of a new

B y any measure, the VUP is a huge enterprise. It is certainly the big- gest mining project currently un- der development in South Africa, and probably Africa as well, and the EPCM contract is the largest ever proj-

26  MODERN MINING  September 2017