Dump Clean-Up
Mining Weekly|February 24, 2017

DRD Gold spends R26m in six months on environmental restoration.

Martin Creamer
Dump Clean-Up

Johannesburg is probably one of the world’s best examples of unintended sustainable development, where almost accidentally the mining economy has been fully replaced by another larger economy.

This is because mining took place for long enough to allow for the emergence of services industries such as banking, manufacturing, technology and many others that have developed around mining and outlived it.

Very little mining takes place around Johannesburg anymore, other than the recovery of gold from mine dumps that is being carried out by the Johannesburg- and New York-listed DRDGold, which employs 2 000 people that move vast quantities of mined material into processing plants.

Yet, Johannesburg is the economic powerhouse of the African continent as a consequence of mining gold in and around it.

But for the fact that gold was discovered here 130 years ago, what is Johannesburg today would have been farmland.

There is also an ugly side to mining’s legacy and testimony to that are the many mine dumps scattered along the Reef, which have to be cleaned up.

Having been part of the initial days of mining in Johannesburg, DRDGold is now part of the environmental restoration stage.

“We were here before radio,” DRDGold CEO Niël Pretorius said, in reference to Marconi sending a wireless radio wave over long distances in 1896, a year after the company – which last week announced a 4% increase in operating profit to R172.6-million on 7% lower gold output for the six months to December 31 – came into existence.

Denne historien er fra February 24, 2017-utgaven av Mining Weekly.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 24, 2017-utgaven av Mining Weekly.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA MINING WEEKLYSe alt
Supply Cliff?
Mining Weekly

Supply Cliff?

Commodities supply shortfall looming following years of underinvestment

time-read
3 mins  |
Mining Weekly 17 March 2017
Strikes Threaten Coal Sector
Mining Weekly

Strikes Threaten Coal Sector

If an agreement cannot be reached on the future structure and form of wage nego­tiations in the coal sector, unions have threatened to strike, says Solidarity mining industry deputy general secretary Connie Prinsloo.

time-read
3 mins  |
Mining Weekly 17 March 2017
Continued Focus On Downstream Development
Mining Weekly

Continued Focus On Downstream Development

Continued Focus On Downstream Development

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2017
Unrelenting Scourge
Mining Weekly

Unrelenting Scourge

Mining fatalities in South Africa rise for first time in decade

time-read
2 mins  |
December 15, 2017
Plea For Open Discussion
Mining Weekly

Plea For Open Discussion

Diamonds body calls for ‘productive dialogue’ on Kimberley Process reform

time-read
3 mins  |
December 15, 2017
Deep Potential
Mining Weekly

Deep Potential

Stillwater deal seen positioning Sibanye as globally competitive mining champion.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 20 - 26, 2017
Explosive Advantage
Mining Weekly

Explosive Advantage

Explosives reloading system helping Gold One to reduce mining costs.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 20 - 26, 2017
Critical Juncture
Mining Weekly

Critical Juncture

South Africa’s mining sector at a crossroads, collaborative effort required.

time-read
7 mins  |
January 20 - 26, 2017
Consulting Engineering's Viability Proportional to Mining's Growth
Mining Weekly

Consulting Engineering's Viability Proportional to Mining's Growth

The consulting engineer-ing industry’s sustain-ability and growth are largely dependent on and proportional to the mining industry’s sustainability and growth respectively, says industry body Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa).

time-read
3 mins  |
Mining Weekly 28 April 2017
Greater Emphasis On Ensuring Sustainability
Mining Weekly

Greater Emphasis On Ensuring Sustainability

Engineering expertise can be used to generate socio-economic gains for mining companies, particularly in jurisdictions that are dependent on the finite business of mineral extraction, states global engineering and infrastructure advisory firm Aurecon, an adviser to the African mining sector.

time-read
2 mins  |
Mining Weekly 28 April 2017