Voorspoed

Voorspoed was officially opened on 4 November 2008.  It is the first of a new generation of mines, setting new standards in environmental and social performance.

The mine was officially opened by Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, South African Minister of Minerals and Energy. 

Also present at the opening ceremony were Nicky Oppenheimer, Chairman of the De Beers Group, Gareth Penny, Managing Director of De Beers, David Noko, Managing Director of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) and Manne Dipico, chairman of Ponahalo Holdings Limited. 

The mine Operations Manager, Andy Taylor, hosted the guests and local leaders of government.  Members of the local community, mine staff and their families were also present at the opening.

Voorspoed is the first De Beers mine to be opened in South Africa since DBCM entered into a groundbreaking Broad-Based Economic Empowerment (BBEE) transaction with Ponahalo Holdings Limited in 2006. 

Voorspoed has an exemplary environmental, rehabilitation and eventual closure plan that was designed before the first diamond was even extracted from the ground. 

As a result, Voorspoed has a far-reaching environmental and social investment programme that will ensure that the mine’s impact will be felt in the communities long after the last diamond has been mined. 

Voorspoed is located approximately 30 km North East of Kroonstad, in the Fezile Dabi District of the Free State Province.

Voorspoed will be operational for the next 12-16 years, including ramp up and closure.  When in full production it is expected to produce up to 800,000 carats per annum. 

Over the life of mine it is expected to recover in excess of 10 million carats, and although the diamonds will be predominately low quality gem, Voorspoed is known to produce occasional large and exotic coloured stones.

The initial production of 60,000 carats has had a value of approximately $120 a carat, above the South African average of $100 a carat. 

The New Order Mining Licence is held by De Beers Consolidated Mines.  The Mining Licence was approved on the 10th October 2006, and is valid until the 9th October 2023.

De Beers in Voorspoed
De Beers acquired the mine in 1912 from the Voorspoed Diamond Mining Company who had experienced difficulty mining the hard and competent kimberlite.

Since purchasing Voorspoed, De Beers have not operated the mine although significant sampling programmes were carried out in the 1960’s and the 1970s.

Following the approval of the New Order Mining Licence in 2006, De Beers Consolidated Mines, through project alliance partner, Murray and Roberts Ltd, started with site establishment and construction of the new Voorspoed Mine.

Voorspoed and the environment
The Voorspoed Environmental Management Programme was approved when the Mining Licence was granted in October 2006.

As part of this process the following environmental approvals were also obtained:

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
• Heritage Impact Assessment
• Wetlands Assessment

The Voorspoed Environmental Management Programme (EMP) caters for the processes required to minimise the environmental impact of the mine, both during its construction and operational phases.

The three parts of the EMP are:

• Environmental Management
• Rehabilitation and Monitoring
• Financial Provision and Closure

During the initial pre-feasibility design phase of the project, the following considerations took place:

• location, layout and design of the mining and plant infrastructure
• avoidance of sensitive habitats and landscapes
• provision for on-going mine rehabilitation and final mine closure
• pre-mining environmental baselines for soil types, land capability, pre-mining land use, and monitoring

A total budget of R 86,5 million has been provided for the life of mine environmental management, which includes on-going annual rehabilitation and final mine closure.

Project timelines
Early commissioning activities started in December 2007, and all major construction was completed at the end of March 2008.

Production ramp-up started in July 2008, and the “C5” project milestone was obtained in early September.

Full production is expected to be achieved by the end of December 2008, six months ahead of the project baseline schedule.

Mining
Voorspoed will be mined using an open cut mining method to a depth of 360 - 420 metres.

The current depth of the mine is 47 metres, with a surface expression of 12.5 hectares.

Voorspoed is being mined with a “split shell” open pit mining method, utilising standard drill and blast techniques. The blasted material is loaded into haul trucks and transported to the primary crusher system where it is crushed to 200 mm.

The primary crushed ore is then conveyed to a secondary crusher, where a -60 mm crushed material is produced and conveyed to the “crushed ore” stockpile.

At full production levels the mining department will supply the plant with an average of 4 million tons of kimberlite ore per annum.

The local economy and job creation
Over the 18-24 month project phase of the project, in excess of R 70 million has been generated in the Free State region.

This amount comprises the small works, services and products procured locally during the mines construction as well as the salaries of those temporarily employed locally during this period.

During the life of the mine, in excess of R 1 billion rand will be generated in the Free State region. This amount comprises the outsourced contracts, services and products procured locally as well as the salaries of those employed permanently during the mine’s operation. 

At the peak of construction activities, in excess of 1200 temporary jobs were created with more than 40% of these positions having been filled by people from the region. 

As at the end of September 2008, some 261 operational personnel had been recruited, with 50% of these positions being filled with people from the region.
 
At the mine’s peak production levels an estimated 350 permanent DBCM and 80 operational “partner” positions will be created, with in excess of 70% of these being employed from the Fezile Dabi region, predominantly from the Moqhaka and Ngwathe Local Municipalities.

Historically disadvantaged South African (HDSA) procurement opportunities for the Free State
Voorspoed will make use of local suppliers for non-core activities, with the focus being to promote regional BEE through the facilitation and transfer of business and entrepreneurial skills.

Services to date that are being procured locally include:

• transportation of the mine’s employees
• building maintenance
• general office infrastructure cleaning
• small works (civils and mechanical)
• “non-core” security
• catering and events management
• supply of workshop tools and equipment
• garden services
• interim accommodation
• infrastructure

Other services that will be procured locally include:

• waste separation and disposal
• scrap removal
• treatment plant cleaning
• LDV fleet maintenance
• rehabilitation

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