The De Beers Group started excavation work on an underground extension to its Venetia Mine in South Africa in 2013. The new development is expected to extend the life of the mine to 2046 and deliver about 96 million carats in diamonds.
The US$ 2.1 billion project is the biggest investment in the South African diamond mining industry in decades and is expected to be in full production in 2025.
- Around 1500 jobs have already been created in construction.
- The company currently operates an open-pit mine employing 3731: 1411 of whom are DBCM employees with the remaining 2320 being full-time contractors providing specific services and skills.
- The underground project will include employees who are to transfer from the open-pit to the underground mining systems, while the future mine will use the current plant to process ore.
A project of this scope requires experienced and reliable partners, resulting in De Beers assigning the Quantity Surveying and Contract Management to Professional Cost Consultants (PCC) and Murray & Roberts Cementation as the contractor. Similarly, a multi-year endeavor like this requires tight control of costs and all the equipment, parts and labour required throughout the various phases of the project. To accomplish these goals, organisations need a reliable and proven project management platform that is able to effectively and transparently deal with every aspect of the project while providing in-depth reports.
For the Venetia project, the Candy Estimating & Project Control Software, from CCS Mining & Industrial, was chosen. CCSMI is a distributor of Candy to the mining industry and part of the EOH Group of Companies. The software is a multifaceted, all-inclusive project control solution that caters for different scenarios and industries. It is also able to integrate and exchange data with a host of common business applications.
Joe de Klerk, Managing Director at CCS Mining & Industrial, explains that clients use CCSMI’s software for the full project life cycle, from the feasibility study to project estimates, project planning and management, right through to completion.
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