Mammoth regional tailings dam is centrepiece of DRDGOLD’s R10bn expansion

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. The centrepiece of the R10-billion five-project Vision 2028 of DRDGOLD is the mammoth regional tailings storage facility (RTSF) at Far West Gold Recoveries surface retreatment operation, near Carletonville, in South Africa's Gauteng province. The commissioning of the fully lined RTSF, which covers an area of 800 ha, is being sequenced through defined regulatory, construction and seasonal gates. Targeted in the first quarter of financial year (FY) 2028 is stable production of 1.2-million tonnes a month with an opportunity to double that to 2.4-million tonnes a month. Once developed, RTSF, which is 67% complete, will accommodate up to 800-million tonnes of tailings and support the long-term production profile of Far West Gold Recoveries for many decades to come. Highlighted on the final slide of a 27-slide RTSF construction-focused presentation by DRDGOLD COO Jaco Schoeman was a near-term opportunity to recover 120 kg of gold by increasing the treatment capacity at Driefontein Two (DP2), also a Vision 2028 project. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) "We have an opportunity to increase the treatment capacity at DP2 from 500 000 t a month to 600 000 t a month, up to a point in time when we then anticipate bringing the Libanon tailings dam online. As soon as Libanon tailings dam is brought online, we can increase the treatment capacity from 600 000 t up to 1.2-million tons per plant. "So, during this period, there's an opportunity to increase it from 500 000 t a month to 600 000 t a month for a six-month period, which equates to 120 kilograms of gold. But this is dependent on getting regulatory approval, getting the Libanon facility up and running, and making sure that the construction is happening on time. "It is also weather dependent. Additional rain poses a risk for this facility. Therefore, the current planning for us is to continuously look at this opportunity and see how the construction of this facility is proceeding. "But eventually, after quarter four of 2027, we intend to then ramp up to 1.2-million tonnes a month, and this is to ensure that we do not compromise the RTSF facility, making sure that it's constructed in a responsible manner," Schoeman stated in the presentation in which DRDGOLD CEO Niël Pretorius and DRDGOLD CFO Henriette Hooijer also participated. All the water from the R3.4-billion RTSF ends up in reclamation stations, for use in a closed water circuit. The first phase of the three-phase project is to get authorisation to begin deposition while still constructing the rest of the dam during Phase 2 and Phase 3. For the first phase, the RTSF requires what is termed beneficial occupation, that is, authorisation to start depositing on part of the tailings facility, while still constructing the rest of the dam as part of Phase 2 and Phase 3. Displayed was the large area that needs to be lined, parts already lined and areas associated with considerable drainage. Ahead of receiving beneficial occupation, water that falls on RTSF's lower southern area needs to be drained. The topography slopes from north to south and a temporary stormwater drain canal is being installed in the south. At this point in time, all water drains through that stormwater canal, but once beneficial occupation authorisation is obtained, the stormwater canal must be sealed off. Drainage comes in the form of radial drains, which extend into the basin of the RTSF, the borrow pit drain that extends around the tailings dam on the inside of the starter wall, the main drain that recovers water from the inside of the basin and the floor of the tailings dam, an intermediate drain and a toe drain. Once depositing commences, deposition will be on inside drainage, which is called upstreaming and at a point in ...