Diamond mines resume operations with restored power supply

De Beers will resume production at most of its six mines following an agreement between Eskom and the Chamber of Mines to restore power supplies to 80% of total requirements, increasing to 90% of supply by the end of business on Thursday. The company will immediately resume production at its underground Finsch Mine; Kimberley Mines including the operations of smaller scale contractors (both mines are in the Northern Cape), and at The Oaks and Venetia Mine in the Limpopo Province.

The company will make a decision on opening the remaining two mines, following the increase in power supplies to 90% later this week. David Noko said he regarded the joint approach adopted by the mining houses and the Chamber of Mines together with the NUM, Eskom and government as important in finding a speedy solution to restore supply after the four day shut down.

It was encouraging that De Beers had already succeeded in lowering its energy consumption by at least 3% in 2007 from the levels consumed in 2006. Two per cent of the company’s global energy consumption came from renewable resources however the fact remained that mining was dependent on traditional power resources for the bulk of its activities.