Modern Mining September 2017

GOLD

capacity of 1,2 Mt/a, typically produces 20 000 ounces of gold a year and is ranked as one of the lowest cost gold producers in the industry. Elikhulu may not be the last expansion at Evander. “We have a very attractive resource known as the 2010 Pay Channel resource which is approximately 3 km in tramming dis- tance from the recently refurbished Evander 7 shaft, which is utilised for rock hoisting,” said Loots. “The project is currently in the feasibil- ity study phase but indications are that it could increase Evander’s gold production quite sig- nificantly. The capex would be modest as we would be able to utilise the existing shaft sys- tem and the Kinross plant.” Regarding the funding of the project, Pan African – listed on the JSE and London’s AIM – notes that the debt facility agreement for the R1 billion Elikhulu term debt facility has been signed. The facility was underwritten by Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, and the syndication closed suc- cessfully, with an over-subscription of more than 50 %. The company believes the appetite shown by the banking market highlights the quality of the project. Once Elikhulu is in full operation, Pan African’s annual production, currently in the region of 200 000 ounces (roughly evenly split between Evander and Barberton Mines) will rise to approximately 250 000 ounces a year. Elikhulu will also provide further diversifica- tion for a group whose fortunes were, until fairly recently, closely allied to a single gold mining operation. A further benefit is that it will reduce the group’s average all-in cost of production. Photos courtesy of Pan African Resources

the mining method as it is a proven technology, cost effective and technically and operationally well understood. The treatment plant, which is being erected close to the existing No 7 shaft and the Kinross metallurgical plant, utilises standard CIL tech- nology, with one pre-oxidation stage and seven leach tanks. Speaking to Modern Mining at the ground- breaking ceremony, Loots said that Elikhulu was Pan African’s primary expansion project and he stressed its excellent economics, noting that it would produce gold at an extraordinarily low all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of less than US$550 per ounce. “The previous owner of Evander, Harmony Gold, looked at the potential of retreating the Evander tailings but never pursued the proj- ect,” he said. “After acquiring Evander in 2013, we took a fresh look at the tailing resources and in 2015 commissioned the 2,4 Mt/a Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant (ETRP) to reclaim gold deposited in the Kinross tailings storage facility. With a capacity of about 20 000 ounces of gold a year, this is a much smaller project than Elikhulu but its success has served as a ‘proof of concept’ of the mining and processing methods that Elikhulu will employ. The ETRP will continue in parallel with Elikhulu and has a remaining life of 13 years.” Pan African, of course, also operates the Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP) at the Fairview mine of Barberton Mines. Construction of the R325,7 million project – which treats material from the Bramber tailings dam – started in April 2012 with the inaugural gold pour being achieved in June 2013. It has a

“The previous owner of Evander, Harmony Gold, looked at the potential of retreating the Evander tailings but never pursued the project.”

September 2017  MODERN MINING  33