Venetia Mine, situated in the Northern Province close to Botswana and Zimbabwe, is one of De Beer’s six major diamond-mining operations in South Africa, and the only major diamond mine to be developed in South Africa in the past 25 years. It was opened by former De Beers’ Chairman Harry Oppenheimer on 14 August 1992, and represents one of De Beers’ biggest single investments in South Africa.
Venetia inherited its name from the farm on which it is situated, while its emblem, the guardian lion, is the biblical symbol of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice.
The Venetia story begins on the farm Seta, 35 kilometers northeast of the present mine, where as early as 1903 diamond-bearing gravels had been discovered close to the Limpopo River. Although the diamonds were “small but of very good quality”, the workings were later abandoned due to the cost of transporting materials overland from Pietersburg. In 1969, De Beers began a reconnaissance-sampling programme to locate the source of these river deposits. The trail led to a farm called Venetia, where a cluster of kimberlite (named after Kimberley) pipes were discovered in 1980. A thorough evaluation began the same year, and the two largest pipes proved to be economically viable. A full feasibility study was commissioned in 1988 and approval for the project was granted in 1989. Construction of the mine began in January 1990, with full output being achieved in 1993. The mine is South Africa’s largest producer of diamonds, thus maintaining the country’s position as a prominent world producer.