Name of the Project
Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR) operation.

Location
Gauteng, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
DRDGOLD’s acquisition of Sibanye-Stillwater’s West Rand Tailings Retreatment Project assets was finalised on July 31, 2018. Following the successful implementation of the transaction between the two companies, Sibanye owned 38.05% of the issued share capital of DRDGOLD.

Under the terms of the transaction, entered into in November 2017, Sibanye agreed to exchange selected surface-gold processing assets and tailings storage facilities (TSFs) for shares in DRDGOLD.

Sibanye-Stillwater also had an option to subscribe for further shares in DRDGOLD within 24 months at a 10% discount. In January 2020, Sibanye exercised this option, obtaining a 50.1% controlling interest in DRDGOLD.

Project Description
FWGR is a surface gold retreatment operation which treats old slime dams in the West Rand goldfields. The operation is being rolled out in a phased approach.

Phase 1 included early-stage production, involving upgrading the Driefontein 2 plant to process tailings from the Driefontein 5 dump at between 400 000 t and 600 000 t a month, and depositing the residue on the Driefontein 4 tailings dam, which was upgraded to a cyclone deposition dam to cater for the higher throughput.

Phase 2 envisages the construction of a high-volume central processing plant capable of processing between 1.2-million and 2.4-million tonnes a month, the continued use of Driefontein 2 plant at an increased 600 000 t a month, and the development of a new 800-million-tonne regional TSF (RTSF) capable of receiving up to three-million tonnes a month. 

In this phase, reclamation will initially be from the Driefontein 3, Libanon and Kloof 1 dumps, and then from the Ventersdorp North and South dumps. The scale of the infrastructure established in this phase will allow for the reclamation from other sources in the region. The objective is to clean up the regional landscape by reprocessing tailings that are currently on dolomite, and redeposit the reclaimed material onto a properly designed and managed megadam, thereby reversing the potential pollution of underground water in the region.

As an alternative to Phase 2, or should Phase 2 be delayed, Phase 1 can be extended by extending deposition onto the Driefontein 4 tailings dam, owing to the good cyclone splits being achieved at the tailings dam. Envisaged is the treatment of the remaining tonnes from Driefontein 5 and then processing material from Driefontein 3.

Potential Job Creation
Since its inception, FWGR has secured employment for more than 150 employees and is committed to its environmental, social and governance mandate, as well as social upliftment programmes, in the far West Rand area of operations. With the implementation of Phase 2 and the extended life-of-mine (LoM), more opportunities are expected to result from DRDGOLD’s value creation activities.

Capital Expenditure
DRDGOLD invested R330-million of capital in Phase 1.

DRDGOLD reported in August 2024 that it anticipated capital investment of about R7-billion at FWGR over the next five years.

Planned Start/End Date
Phase 1 commercial production started within eight months of the acquisition, on April 1, 2019, and made its maiden full 12-month contribution to DRDGOLD’s financial results in the 2020 financial year.

Construction of Phase 2 is under way and planned to be completed by 2024/5, provided the requisite amendments to existing regulatory approvals are obtained, the gold market remains favourable and an investment climate prevails that is conducive to long-term investment on this scale.

Latest Developments
The RTSF project broke ground on June 5, 2024. This follows the appointment of a leading contractor to build the RTSF and the receipt of the requisite permits. Once commissioned, the RTSF will not only be large enough to receive FWGR’s entire remaining resource in this region but will offer a complete solution to the ongoing impact of TSFs built over environmentally sensitive aquifers in the region. 

Beneficial occupation of the RTSF is targeted for the second half of the 2027 calendar year.

Monthly throughput capacity of 1.2-million tonnes at the Driefontein 2 plant is planned for the second half of the 2027 calendar year. This could potentially add 25 years to FWGR's LoM.

Key contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
R&A Strategic Communications on behalf of DRDGOLD, Jane Kamau, tel +27 11 880 3924 or email jane@rasc.co.za.