Name of the Project
Royal Sheba development.

Location
Located at Sheba mine within the Barberton Mines complex, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Gold miner Pan African Resources.

Project Description
Royal Sheba will target the near-surface mineralised zone within the Barberton Mines complex, with future ore production to be processed through the Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP). The mine will be developed as a modern, mechanised underground operation, using specialist mining contractors and longhole open stoping with trackless mining equipment.

The current Royal Sheba mine plan extends for more than 11 years and targets steady-state production of about 40 000 oz/y of gold, with about 197 000 oz currently scheduled for production.

Ore will be processed through the existing BTRP, allowing for Royal Sheba to leverage established processing and regional infrastructure rather than requiring the construction of a new standalone processing facility. This integration has the potential to enhance capital efficiency while materially increasing the production profile and extending the operating life of the BTRP.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
On the current project assumptions, Royal Sheba has a real net present value of about R918-million and an internal rate of return of about 24%.

Capital Expenditure
Project capital of about R132-million is estimated for the 2027 financial year and comprises R77-million for infrastructure and R55-million for equipment, with a further R119-million of direct operating and development expenditure.

Planned Start/End Date
First blast is scheduled for early 2027.

Latest Developments
The current mine plan does not capture all the identified upside at Royal Sheba.

Work is advancing to delineate the down-dip continuation of the orebody through the existing 23 Level ZK Shaft access. Confirmation of this extension has the potential to sustain production of about 30 000 oz/y to 40 000 oz/y for a further four to five years and add more than 100 000 oz to the current life-of-mine production profile.

The 23 Level access development also establishes a dedicated underground drilling platform to improve geological confidence in the down-dip extension. Further upside is being assessed through geotechnical studies of mining adjacent to historical workings and the potential introduction of backfill to increase the planned ore extraction.

Preliminary optimisation incorporating backfilled stopes indicates the potential to increase extractable gold from the 197 000 oz included in the current production schedule to 285 000 oz, representing an uplift of about 45%. This opportunity remains subject to completion of the geotechnical assessment and confirmation of the proposed backfill strategy and is, therefore, not included in the current project case.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None disclosed.

Contact Details for Project Information
Pan African Resources, tel + 27 11 243 2900 or email info@paf.co.za.