Stonewall to fast-track SA gold mine development
ASX-listed Stonewall Resources last week announced that it would fast-track the development of its Rietfontein underground gold mine, in South Africa, following a successful prefeasibility study (PFS).
The junior told shareholders that mining was set to start at a rate of 5 000 t/m, targeting production of some 1 294 oz of gold for 2013 and increasing to 8 200 oz/y by 2014.
Stonewall said, with the feasibility study and mine plan completed, produc- tion could now start two years ahead of schedule.
“The Stonewall approach has been to start with bulk testwork and small-scale mining, and then upgrade production steadily,” said CEO Lloyd Birrell.
“This approach has served us well in the past, as demonstrated with the processing of TGME tailings and the Klipwal tailings, both of which were precursors to full-on underground mining operations.”
Birrell said the start of mining operations on a small scale allowed the company to build the right team, conduct underground exploration, gain a comprehensive understanding of the geology and metallurgy and learn about the working conditions.
The Rietfontein mine is one of several areas of gold mineralisation held under the approved Rietfontein new-order mining right, which includes Rietfontein, Waterval, Malieveld Valley and Spitskop.
Stonewall had started resource drilling at the TGME and Sabie projects, where it was targeting an increase of between 110 000 oz and 1.2-million ounces in resource.
Additional exploration drilling and bulk testwork would also be conducted as part of extended feasibility studies at Riet- fontein with the aim of extending the life- of-mine and increasing the mine plan to allow for production of some 40 000 oz/y by the end of 2014.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Rio Carb is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of R-C700 Chromium Carbide (CrC) alloy clad wear plates and pipes used for heavy materials...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Leading condition monitoring specialists, WearCheck, help boost machinery lifespan and reduce catastrophic component failure through the scientific...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
