JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The surface operations of gold-mining company Pan African are functioning at 70% of normal production capacity, but with only 26% of the workforce, the company said in a stock exchange news service (SENS) announcement on Tuesday.

The SENS notice stated that the surface remining and processing activities that are functioning on a reduced scale were the:

• Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant;
• Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant; and
• limited underground mining operations at Barberton Mines.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed company, headed by CEO Cobus Loots, stated in the SENS notice that it had obtained authorisation from the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to conduct the reduced-scale surface activities, subject to compliance with all relevant national lockdown regulations and applicable legislation.

The notice stated that operating with such a reduced workforce was possible for a limited time, as a result of the highly automated nature of the surface operations.

It said that Barberton Mines was currently also able to produce the required minimum feed for its bacteria biooxidation processing plant, which was ensuring the continued integrity of that system.

Updated guidance for the 2020 financial year would be communicated to shareholders after the national Covid-19 lockdown had terminated, and the group was in a position to quantify the extent and duration of the operational disruptions during the lockdown period.

As previously communicated, the liquidity position of Pan African remained robust, with credit approval from Rand Merchant Bank being obtained to defer the last three tranches of the existing gold loan’s redemption. That constituted 5 000 oz, valued at $7.8-million, which would be deferred to the first quarter of the 2021 financial year. The group’s banking consortium had also confirmed its support for the company should further liquidity be required.

Support programmes, which had been embarked upon in addition to its existing community initiatives to alleviate hardships in the areas around the operations, included the provision of food hampers and hygiene products for employees and specific communities.

Potable water would also be distributed by the mine’s water tankers to affected communities in Barberton, in collaboration with the local municipality, for the duration of the lockdown.

"We’re fully supportive of the actions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, while at the same time implementing support measures to assist stakeholders around our operations.

“The health and wellbeing of our employees and communities remains our number one priority, and the measures that we have implemented enable essential services and operations to be maintained,” Loots stated.

On April 9, following 14 days of the initial lockdown period, President Ramaphosa announced that South Africa’s National Coronavirus Command Council had decided to extend the lockdown period by a further two weeks beyond the initial 21 days, resulting in the existing lockdown measures remaining in force until April 30.

Measures to prevent the spread and detection of Covid-19 would continue at all Pan African operations and essential services would continue to be provided, Mining Weekly can report.