JOHANNESBURG – The world’s leading diamond company De Beers announced Friday a $2 billion investment in a new South African diamond mine that will begin production in 2021.
The underground mine is beneath the currently operating open pit Venetia Mine in northern Limpopo Province.
“The development and build phase of the underground mine is expected to create 1,000 jobs over the next nine years while open pit mining operations continue,” De Beers said in a statement.
The company estimates that the new mine will yield 96 million carats of diamonds and secure 3,000 jobs, for both skilled and semi-skilled workers.
The bulk of all equipment and services will be sourced in South Africa.
De Beers, founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes, has been run by Oppenheimer family members or trusted associates since the late 1920s.
It mines and sells around 35 percent of the world’s diamonds.