Modern Mining January 2025

TOP PROJECTS

North sand dump.

MTR boosts PAR’s production to 250 000 ozpa By Nelendhre Moodley Gold miner, Pan African Resources (PAR) has achieved first gold from its recently constructed R2,5 billion Mogale tailings re-treatment (MTR) operation. The acquisition of the historic tailings storage facilities was finalised in 2023, after which construction of the MTR plant commenced in July 2023. MTR catapults the miner from a ca.190 000 oz producer to a 250 000 oz per year producer, Hethen Hira, Head of Investor Relations & Communication at PAR, tells Modern Mining . T he miner achieved first gold in the first week of October 2024 - four months ahead of schedule. “Achieving first gold in 14 months – instead of the scheduled 18 months – is a major triumph for PAR. We used our extensive experience to deliver the ozpa to ensure that production sits comfortably between 250 000 ozpa and 260 000. Following delays as a result of ground conditions at depth, the new sub-vertical shaft was commissioned in December 2024.” PAR achieved steady state production from MTR in early January 2025 - an asset purchased for just over $1 an ounce and originally containing over a million ounces in Mineral Reserve.

project efficiently and under budget, saving roughly R300 m by being ahead of schedule. The safety statistics were also exemplary – during the construction phase MTR employed over 1 600 workers on site and achieved completion of construction with zero lost-time injuries for the 1.5 million man hours worked,” According to Hira, PAR has a strong track record of successfully retreating surface deposits, which includes its Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP) and Elikhulu tailings retreatment operations, with the lessons learnt helping to deliver the MTR project ahead of schedule. MTR adds a further 50 000 ozpa to 60 000 to PAR’s production base, firmly placing the JSE-listed entity in the mid tier category. “Further to this, we commissioned a new sub-vertical shaft at our Evander mine, located in Mpumalanga, to improve efficiencies, which lifts production by a further 15 to 20 000

The Mintails assets acquired for R50 million comprised historic TSFs, or mine dumps, that were the residue of underground gold mines mined in the West Rand since the early 1900s. The assets were previously owned by Mintails Mining SA, which has been in provisional liquidation since 2018. According to Hira, there are some two million ounces of low grade gold in the TSFs, contained in around 240 Mt of material, grading at an average of 0,3 g/t of gold. The company’s tailings operations are hugely profitable at current gold prices, given the anticipated low all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of around $1 000/oz. In addition, PAR anticipates a life of a mine at around 20 years, with annual production averaging around 50 000 ozpa. The project has a processing plant with a design capacity of 800 000 tons per month.

32  MODERN MINING  www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | JANUARY 2025