Modern Mining May 2020

GOLD

time,” says Loots, reiterating that this is, however, only possible for a limited period. Tailings to the rescue The tailings retreatment business is thus paying dividends for Pan African Resources during these difficult operating conditions. For the full finan- cial year to the end of June, the company expects almost 50% of its total gold production to come from its Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant and the Elikhulu surface retreatment operations. The low-cost, high-grade Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant extracts gold from historically accumulated tailings, producing up to 25 000 oz per annum at an excellent cash cost of US$552/oz. The plant uses a Carbon in Leach circuit with electro- winning and smelting to produce a saleable product. It has a Mineral Reserve of 500 000 oz of gold, with a forecast life-of-mine of nine years. Loots says the plant is ramping up to full production and is forecast to produce 20 000 oz during this financial year. Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant, together with the Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant at Evander Gold Mine, which achieved first gold pour in August 2018, generate low-cost, low-risk ounces to add to Pan African Resources’ production profile. The Elikhulu plant can process up to 75 000 oz of gold per annum, with Mineral Reserves of 170,6-mil- lion tcontaining 1,5-million oz of gold, at a cash cost of US$555/oz. The Elikhulu tailings retreatment plant, says Loots, has proven the company’s ability to operate safely, at a reduced rate and in line with all legal require- ments, throughout the lockdown period as the gold

producers share price rises alongside a soaring gold price during the pandemic. Retreatment of the surface sources at Elikhulu has created much-needed employment and devel- opment opportunities for the communities around Evander, during the construction phase as well as during the operational phase that has life of mine in excess of 12 years. “Elikhulu is one of our flagship operations and demonstrates the expertise in our organisation to design, build and commission tailings retreatment plants on time and within budget. It is also instrumen- tal in ranking Pan African Resources among southern Africa’s lowest-cost gold producers. The project also ‘ticks all the boxes’ on various other levels in terms of the long life of its operations, sustaining the local economy and freeing up land that can be rehabili- tated for other uses. Elikhulu makes up about 34% of our forecast production,” explains Loots. Tailings reprocessing entails the retreatment of mud-like residual ore waste of mines, allowing for mining of additional mineral resources. Previously deemed a burden on mining companies, says Loots, tailings storage facilities are an increasingly proving to be attractive strategic assets for technologically focused and innovative miners like Pan African Resources. For example, Elikhulu’s innovation, in addition to its high throughput and short pumping distances, lies in its modern extraction process, which does not require regrind mills and thickeners, has low reagent consumption and uses mostly non-potable water supply from adjacent underground operations. Pan African Resources has designed its tailings

The company has been able to continue producing close to forecast, despite some limitations which have affected the resultant output.

14  MODERN MINING  May 2020