Glittering Dumps

Third of Pan African gold from low-cost, low-risk surface tailings

- Martin Creamer

More than a third of the yearly gold production of Pan African Resources is destined to arise from low-cost, low-risk tailings businesses, which have long lives ahead of them.

Pan African CEO Cobus Loots told investors, analysts and journalists at the company’s presentation of financial results last week that the London- and Johannesburg-listed midtier mining company expects to produce 190 000-oz-plus of gold in its 2018 financial year.

The Africa-focused precious metals mining company, which has a resource base of 34-million ounces of gold, in the 12 months to June 30, invested capital totalling R613million on sustaining and expanding its underground and surface operations at Evander and Barberton.

In the 12 months to June 30, its existing tailings businesses contributed 56 218 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $477/oz, with the company reminding stakeholders of the “game changing” efficacy of the upcoming R1.7-billion Elikhulu gold tailings project now under construction.

Elikhulu, which will begin to produce gold in the last quarter of the 2018 calendar year, will itself produce 56 000 oz of gold a year for the first eight years of its 14-year life-of-mine and 46 000 oz/y for the last six years.