Name of the Mine
Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP).

Location  
The BTRP is situated in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.

Mine Owner/s  
Gold producer Pan African Resources.

Brief Description  
BTRP forms part of Pan African Resources’ Barberton Mines complex. It is a surface remining site with road access from all surface material sources to the plant.

Brief History  
The BTRP was built in 2012 and retreats historical mine tailings. The operation was Pan African Resources’ first tailings retreatment plant and has produced about 20 000 oz/y since commissioning. 

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Gold.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
Mineralisation comprises deposition material of historically treated metallurgical tailings from the Fairview, Consort and Sheba mines.

The material is confined to the deposition sites of historical tailings and extends about one metre beneath the historical footprint into the residual soil profile. The ore comprises oxidised tailings containing pyrite and arsenopyrite-associated gold, which was not recovered in the initial treatment process.

Reserves  
As at June 30, 2024, proven and probable reserves were estimated at 3.65-million tonnes grading 1.63 g/t gold.

Resources  
Total measured and indicated resources as at June 30, 2024, were estimated at 12.17-million tonnes grading 1.27 g/t gold. Inferred mineral resources were estimated at 8.63-million tonnes grading 1 g/t gold.

Type of Mine
Surface.

Mining Method  
Hydraulic, load-and-haul. 

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
Ore is pumped (hydraulic remining and Fairview plant tailings) or trucked (load-and-haul) to the BTRP. The ore is milled in a regrind mill and processed through a carbon-in-leach circuit, a carbon regeneration and elution (and electrowinning) section. The BTRP also has its own smelt house. The BTRP has a capacity of about 100 000 t a month.

Prospects  
As at June 30, 2024, the BTRP had less than two years of life remaining on tailings alone. Pan African envisages adding a crushing circuit to the plant to enable the processing of run-of-mine (RoM) material from the Sheba Fault project. 

It is envisaged that the Sheba Fault project will form part of the BTRP feed sources when this project is commissioned and production is enabled through the construction of a RoM crusher circuit at the BTRP. This will allow for the BTRP to treat an estimated 35 000 t a month of RoM material from the Royal Sheba and Western Cross projects, thereby extending the life of the operation and ensuring its sustained output in future.

Contact Details
Pan African Resources 
Tel +27 11 243 2900
Email info@paf.co.za
Website www.panafricanresources.com