Barberton tailings plant lifts output ultra cheaply

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – In the 12 months to June 30, gold was produced by the Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP) of Pan African Resources at the exceptionally low all-in cost of $332/oz.

While Barberton Mines as a whole had a good financial year underground and on surface, it was the on-surface BTRP that shot the lights out by not only producing 28 590 oz ultra-cheaply but also increasing gold production by close to 18%.

Overall all-in sustaining costs of the underground Barberton Mines were also cut by a commendable 17.3% to just under $750/oz, and gold sold rose 4% to 84 690 oz. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).

Interestingly, Barberton Mines’ Fairview mine is the ninth highest grade underground gold mine in the world and, on its own, Fairview’s 11 block main reef complex (MRC) orebody section is the world’s second highest grade underground gold mine at 35 g/t. At 44.1 g/t, Fire Creek mine, in the US, tops the rankings.

“Barberton’s a world-class asset,” Pan African CEO Cobus Loots told investors, analysts and Mining Weekly Online earlier this week, at the London- and Johannesburg-listed Pan African presentation of results in a year of record gold production, record profits and record dividends.

Profit rose 160.2% to R547-million on total gold production of 204 928 oz, with Barberton Mines contributing 113 281 oz and the Evander mines 91 647 oz, the latter lifting production by a substantial 30.8%.

Meanwhile, Fairview’s life-of-mine (LoM) has been increased to 22 years and the acquisition of tailings containing 40 000 oz from Vantage Gold will boost the tailings business even further.

Fairview’s LoM fillip was brought about by extending the operation 70 m further down dip into the MRC orebody’s high-grade 11 block, which is being further extended 170 m below current infrastructure.

A waste-hoisting optimisation exercise is also under way at Fairview MRC’s 11 block, with initial indications pointing to a potential additional 15% production increase in the medium term.

Also performing well is Barberton Mines’ Sheba operation, where the down dip extension of Sheba’s ZK orebody is confirmed and expected to yield another 27 kg of gold a month.

In addition, Royal Sheba has an 18-year LoM and a resource estimate of 300 000 oz, which is expected to play an important sustainability role in the next five to seven years.

Barberton’s Fairview, Sheba and Consort underground operations all beat gold production when compared with the corresponding period last year, with the head grade from underground a higher 11 g/t and the head grade including surface sources averaging 10.7 g/t.