Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, Nature reserve in Limpopo Valley, South Africa.
Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve is a 33,000-hectare reserve in South Africa's northernmost Limpopo province, surrounding the Venetia diamond mine and owned by De Beers. Its mopane veld is home to lions, elephants and leopards, and it has hosted African wild dogs managed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Mapungubwe National Park lies across the road.
The reserve is owned by De Beers and surrounds the Venetia diamond mine, opened in 1992 by former De Beers chairman Harry Oppenheimer. The mine is South Africa's largest diamond producer since 1995. In 2021 opencast mining was due to give way to underground operations, extending the mine's life to 2044.
The reserve sits next to Mapungubwe World Heritage Site, where visitors encounter ancient African settlements linked to early regional trade. This proximity shows how the area connected people across centuries through commerce and movement.
Visitors can join guided morning or evening excursions to observe wildlife in its natural setting. The best viewing times are during cooler hours when animals are most active.
In 2018 De Beers began moving 200 elephants from the reserve to Mozambique after the population outgrew the land; the company says the reserve can carry about seventy elephants without harm to the ecosystem. At the time it was one of the largest translocations in South African history.
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