Modern Mining January 2023

African gold tailings project in mid-2024

will be consolidated and re-deposited into the West Wits Pit – a cavity left behind by historic gold min ing activity near Krugersdorp – and later onto a new TSF to be constructed on-top of the West Wits Pit. As the tailings reclamation activity progresses, a second TSF will be established on the footprint of 1L 23-25. “These two tailings storage facilities will be suf ficient to consolidate the residues and in turn reduce the ecological footprint of the legacy area,” said Loots. To ensure adequate safety, compliance, and man agement of its TSFs and to prevent any risks that could negatively impact the environment and com munities near these TSFs, Pan African is actively working with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that statutory TSF management standards, as out lined in the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, are implemented and maintained both in the planning and construction, and throughout the life of the TSFs. Detailed engineering studies, environmental

within 3.5 years after commissioning, and the DFS puts its operating costs at R78 per ton. The company has already secured $80-million worth of senior debt from FirstRand Bank, acting through its Rand Merchant Bank division, which will form part of the funding for the Mogale Gold proj ect’s construction. Using a low-cost hydro mining method to reclaim the tailings material, combined with load and haul mining for the sand dumps, the gold-bearing mate rial will be sent to a carbon-in-leach retreatment plant with a throughput of 800 000 tons per month (with up to 900 000 tons per month achievable) for processing. The plant will employ a similar proven processing technology to that of Pan African’s flagship Elikhulu operation, which is currently processing about 1.2-million tons per month. Loots said the company plans initially to re-mine and process surface dams 1L 23-25. Once the tail ings have been reprocessed, the resultant residues

The North Sand Dump, which forms part of the Mogale Gold resource.

The Soweto Cluster has the potential to add an average of 11 000 ounces per annum between years 6-13.

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