Gold development company Theta Gold Mines has selected Yellow River Co (YRC), a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China, for the construction of its TGME gold plant, tailings storage facility and wastewater dams, in South Africa.
The parties are working on a formal engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for completion by the second quarter of 2024, with an expected contract size of $30-million.
The contract will cover the 45 000 t a month capacity gold plant, the TSF and the wastewater management dams as per the definitive feasibility study completed in 2022.
Theta will pay for the EPC contract over a long-term payment schedule. YRC will be paid a fixed margin over the EPC contract value, plus a completion incentive upon completion of the project.
Theta says it is in discussion with several funders to obtain the funding necessary to meet the upfront payment commitments for TGM to advance the EPC memorandum of understanding to a contract.
Commenting on the selection of PowerChina, Theta chairperson Bill Guy says YRC is well positioned throughout the African continent with power, power storage, civil construction and mining build contracts completed and on-going.
“YRC recently set up operations in Johannesburg to build a South African base for both power and mining projects,” he says.
Since the initial engagement in November, the Theta and YRC senior management teams have completed four site trips and have established a solid working relationship, adds COO Jacques Du Triou.
“We are very excited towards getting our project off the ground with YRC in the coming months.”
Theta is aiming to restart historical underground gold mines in Mpumalanga, a prolific gold-mining region of South Africa.