Pan African reports the inaugural gold pour at its Elikhulu tailings retreatment plant. The construction of Elikhulu was completed ahead of schedule and within its R1.74-billion budget. The commissioning phase is scheduled to be completed in September 2018, with steady-state production of approximately 55,000 oz/y of gold, at an all-in sustaining production cost of between $650/oz and $700/oz.

Pan African Resources CEO Cobus Loots commented: “The completion of Elikhulu’s construction and the inaugural gold pour, ahead of schedule and in line with the project budget, is a further significant milestone as we deliver into our strategy of repositioning the Group as a low-cost, long-life gold producer.

“Elikhulu is delivering much needed new employment opportunities and is an economic boost for our local communities and for South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.

“The professional way in which the project was executed, delivering into all milestones in a safe and sustainable manner, again demonstrates our team’s ability to conceptualise, plan and complete very substantial growth projects.

“We expect Elikhulu to be a flagship operation within our low-cost, long-life asset base, and we will continue to focus on improving and expanding our portfolio in a sustainable manner to the benefit of all stakeholders.”

As previously announced, the incorporation into Elikhulu of the Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant (ETRP), which has a throughput of 200,000 t/month, is on track and scheduled for completion in December 2018, after which the enlarged Elikhulu plant is forecast to process throughput of 1.2 Mt/month and is expected to produce approximately 70,000 oz of gold per annum.

Over the life of the project, Elikhulu is expected to produce 674,000 oz of gold with a value of approximately R11.5 billion at a gold price of R550,000/kg, inject R5.3 billion into the South African economy for sourced goods and services, and contribute an estimated R1.3 billion to the South African revenue authorities in taxes and royalties.