JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Stonewall Resources’ Pilgrims Rest gold project, in Mpumalanga, is expected to start production towards the end of 2019.

Stonewall Mining South Africa CEO George Jenkins told African Mining Network attendees on Thursday evening that the company is converting its mining permits to mining rights, and lauded the Mpumalanga Department of Mineral Resources for its efficiency.

Jenkins explained that the company is focusing on delineating shallow opencut resources, which can facilitate an early resumption in production.

The deposits being targeted are historical mines, with shallow reefs, which offer a low capital entry point.

Further, because the area was mined previously, access to water and electrical infrastructure is not a problem, and the company need only upgrade existing infrastructure, once a definitive feasibility study has been completed.  

Jenkins stated that the narrow, mostly flat-lying reefs are suited to opencut mining and a recent upgrade to the Vaalhoek resource is an example of the type of high-grade targets the company plans to bring into production.

The Pilgrims Rest project comprises Theta Hill, which is immediately adjacent to a carbon-in-leach plant at Pilgrims Rest and has been the focus of recent drilling, and  the shallow DG4 target, which is also adjacent to the plant.

Jenkins said the miner is targeting between 30 000 t/m and 40 000 t/m of feed once production starts, and that the project has an expected nine-year life of mine, producing around 400 000 t/y. 

Meanwhile, dewatering is under way at the Rietfontein mine to enable construction of underground access adjacent to the old workings. Jenkins described it as a typical, underground sulphide-style orebody.

He noted that the Sabie and Piligrims Rest region had suffered from a lack of exploration for decades and that there is significant gold potential in the area, with Stonewall’s drill results showing grades ranging between 10 g/t and 20 g/t.

Moreover, the metallurgical testwork shows recoveries in excess of 95%.

Stonewall Resources has managed to upgrade its resource from about three-million ounces in 2016 to about 5.2-million ounces in April this year.

Jenkins expects the Columbia Hill deposit to be the only potentially problematic deposit, as it is “challenging from a topographical perspective.”

The area was mined in the late 1950s, but used a heap leach process, which was unsuccessful.

Jenkins said that if and when Stonewall brings the Columbia Hill deposit into production, it will in all likelihood use a direct mill and straight leach process.

He noted that the Pilgrims Rest region is no longer a booming tourist destination, and that the communities there are struggling with high levels of unemployment and poverty.

He concluded that the influx of business that would result from Stonewall’s presence will have major benefits for the region, specifically in terms of investment and job creation.