Name of the Project
West Rand tailings retreatment project (WRTRP).

Location
Gauteng, South Africa.

Client
DRDGold is acquiring the project from Sibanye-Stilwater.

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

According to previous reports from Sibanye-Stilwater, 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.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Sibanye-Stilwater previously estimated 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
Sibanye-Stilwater previously estimated Phase 1 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
DRDGold, which is acquiring the WRTRP from Sibanye-Stilwater, expects the project to generate a profit of R229.4-million for the 12 months ending December 31, 2019.

The profit forecast is based on throughput of 500 000 t/m at a recovered grade of 0.29 g/t; working costs per ton processed are R63.97 and a gold price of R564 245/kg.

The WRTRP is valued at R2.1-billion. 

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.