PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior West Wits Mining has secured a toll processing agreement with South African firm Ezulwini Mining Company, for toll treating ore from the Witwatersrand Basin project.
Under the terms of the agreement, West Wits will supply Ezulwini, which is a subsidiary of Sibanye-Stillwater, with 15 000 t a month of gold-bearing material. Over time, this volume would increase to up to 54 000 t a month.
“Securing a tolling treatment agreement with a subsidiary of major mining house, Sibanye-Stillwater, after extensive negotiations gives great confidence in the Witwatersrand Basin project’s project credentials and provides the catalyst to ramp up development,” said MD Jac van Heerden.
“In March this year we paused our mining operations at the Witwatersrand Basin project with the objective to rearrange our mining and equipment supply contracts, with these initiatives completed June 2022. Operationally, we have completed all essential infrastructure and established access to the orebody face, ready to commence mining.
“The toll treatment agreement has now provided the green light to proceed with the primary debt funding initiative to secure project finance and execute West Wits' development strategy.”
West Wits anticipates the primary funding options to be significantly advanced by the end of the fourth quarter of this year, which will enable the company to mobilise mining equipment and the mine contractor’s work force in the first quarter of 2023 to execute the revised definitive feasibility study released in August 2022.
The plan is to build up a stockpile of up to 30 000 t and to start delivering the ore to Sibanye-Stillwater at a constant rate of 15 000 t a month before building to 20 000 t a month and 54 000 t a month at peak production within three years.