Mid-tier gold miner Pan African Resources (PAR) has commissioned its new tailings retreatment plant that is expected to boost the group’s output by at least 50% once steady-state production is reached in December.
The Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR) plant was commissioned in early October, below its R2.5bn budget and ahead of schedule, the company said on Thursday.
The facility, completed in just 14 months, is expected to add 50,000-60,000oz to the combined 100,000oz of gold produced annually from the group’s surface re-mining operations. That sets the group well on course to achieve output guidance of 220,000oz a year by the end of its 2025 financial year.
At an all-in sustaining cost of about $1,000/oz and a lifespan of more than 20 years, Mogale is more resilient to price volatility than the group’s underground operations.
Tailings operations are a key component of Pan African Resources’ strategy to cash in on current record high gold prices through disciplined capital allocation and cost control.
Commenting in the group’s results for the year to end-June, CEO Cobus Loots said the past year’s favourable trading environment provided the company with an opportunity to hedge against a downturn in the gold market.
“There was a big focus on reinvesting in our assets in the good times, so that we reduce the cost of production, which gives us more flexibility to see through a downturn,” he said.
To further bring down costs at Mogale, a feasibility study has been commissioned for a 20MW solar plant on site, which would ease the reliance on Eskom and reduce the cost of electricity.
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