Name and Location
West Rand tailings retreatment project (WRTRP), Gauteng, South Africa.

Client
Sibanye Gold.

Project Description
The WRTRP involves 1.3-billion tonnes of tailings material containing 11-million ounces of gold and 170-million pounds of uranium.

The project will entail turning the material into a slurry, transporting it to a plant, extracting the gold, uranium and sulphur from the Cooke, Driefontein and Kloof complexes, and then depositing the residue on a deposition site.

The first module to treat the first 1.4-million tonnes a month is earmarked for eventual possible expansion to treat up to four-million tonnes a month.

Production at a throughput of 1.4-million tonnes a month will enable Sibanye to produce 100 000 oz/y to 115 000 oz/y of gold over 18 years.

Envisaged is the building of an additional module every two or three years to increase the throughput of the plant incrementally to four-million tonnes monthly through the central processing plant.

That will mean the WRTRP eventually getting up to around 210 000 oz/y of gold and 2.5-million pounds a year of uranium.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The WRTRP has a net present value of R4-billion, with an internal rate of return of 33% at a gold price of R600 000/kg, which does not take into account any of the additional benefits from annuity resources.

Value
Phase 1 is estimated to cost R9.6-billion. Should extra modules be added incrementally, the total capital bill is expected to be from about R12.5-billion to R13-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
With the feasibility study complete, Sibanye has reached the stage of front-end engineering design. Early earthworks and civils construction packages for the building of the required plant have been taken to a high level of accuracy and the company is “very far advanced” in the permitting process.

The WRTRP proposals will be taken to the board towards the end of this year, with a full execution budget and execution plan to be able to deliver an initial 1.4-million gold ounces in the next 18 to 20 years, and planning already in place for the 17 years thereafter.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sibanye Gold senior VP: investor relations James Wellsted, tel +27 11 278 9600 or email james.wellsted@sibanyegold.co.za.