De Beers delivers first production from underground operations at its Venetia Mine in South Africa in this undated handout picture. On Tuesday, NUM, South Africa's biggest mineworkers' union, said it was planning a strike at Venetia, as De Beers could only offer a 6% pay increase against demands for a 9% hike. The strike by NUM's 1,500 workers would impact operations at Venetia's new $2.3 billion underground operations, which started production in July. De Beers stopped its 30-year open pit operations at Venetia in December 2022. "We are confident that through continued engagement with the union and our employees we will reach a sustainable settlement with the NUM," De Beers said.

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Persons: De Beers, NUM, Nelson Banya, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers, Commission, Conciliation, Thomson Locations: Venetia, South Africa, NUM