Tailings Retreatment
14,051,680 tons
tailings processed in 2020
614 $/oz.
AISC at Elikhulu TRP
79,751 oz.
gold produced from tailings 2020
Our gold tailings reclamation projects not only extract the additional economic value from tailings but also provide an opportunity to process this ‘mine waste’ with up-to-date technology. This delivers a less toxic, more stable footprint, that frees up large areas of land for productive use. The Elikhulu operation combines the Kinross, Leslie/Bracken and Winkelhaak historic TSFs into a single facility to reduce Evander Mines’ environmental footprint and impact. The BTRP also fulfils the same role and consolidates the Bramber and Harper TSFs by re-mining and re-depositing tailings waste.
Gold tailings are central to our business:
- Our tailings storage facilities are lined and monitored according to the requirements of the Department of Water and Sanitation
- We reuse process mine water from Barberton and Evander Mines, significantly optimising our water use profile
- We cultivate vegetative cover over the tailings dams to minimise dust emissions
- Almost half the gold ounces from the Group’s production are sourced from high-margin surface tailings operations
- In July 2021, an executive responsible for TSFs for the Group as it relates to the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) requirement was appointed by the CEO of Pan African.
Discover how we’re Mining for a future
Learn how the state-of-the-art Elikhulu gold tailings retreatment plant produces high-margin gold ounces, while also contributing to effective mine waste management of historical tailings.
Tailings storage facilities
Our TSFs are designed, built and operated by appointed specialist third-party contractors. Tailings dam management is overseen by dedicated Engineers of Record (EOR) at each of our TSF sites to ensure we implement leading practices in compliance with legislation, DMRE requirements and our own internal Codes of Practice. We continuously review the integrity of the Group’s tailings storage facilities to ensure they meet the highest environmental standards.
A specialist processor of gold tailings
Tailings retreatment represents the greatest contribution to recycling by Pan African. By reprocessing waste rock and tailings to extract gold left behind during the initial mining process, we effectively reduce our environmental footprint while rehabilitating our tailings dams.
Tailings are processed at Pan African’s two state-of-the-art tailings treatment plants, at Elikhulu and BTRP, which processed 13,093,574 t and 958,106 t of tailings respectively in 2020.
Explore our Tailings Retreatment Plants:
Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant
Elikhulu is a technologically advanced, automated plant processing over 1 Mt of historic tailing per month.
Barberton Tailing Retreatment Plant (BTRP)
The BRTP has the capacity to produce some 20 000 high-margin, low-risk ounces per year for our production profile.
Read more about our ESG projects:
Investing
A Deeper Look at PAR’s Elikhulu Operation
Investing
The History of Pan African Resources
Investing