Ergo and ErgoGold

The Ergo Joint Venture between DRDGOLD SA and Mintails South Africa was established in 2007 to exploit up to 1.7 billion tonnes of surface tailings for gold, uranium and sulphuric acid. The gold portion of the joint venture was initially known as the Elsburg Gold Mining Joint Venture and was renamed ErgoGold following DRDGOLD’s acquisition of Mintails’ share. ErgoGold is now wholly owned by the DRDGOLD group and it is managed by Crown.

The surface tailings are found near Benoni, Springs and Brakpan to the east of Johannesburg. There is one metallurgical plant – the Ergo plant near Brakpan – and three tailings deposition facilities.

Production from ErgoGold Phase 1 has begun and will rise to a planned 1.2Mt per month at an average head grade of 0.32g/t and an unescalated cost of R30 per tonne for 12 years thereafter. ErgoGold has a resource of 1 670 000 ounces.

Work on the elution plant was completed in April 2009. While volume flows from the first circuit – from the L29 dump – were satisfactory, initial recoveries of 0.04g/t at the end of June were below project specifications. This required a number of engineering modifications to the plant.

The second circuit, linking the Elsburg Tailings Complex site with the Brakpan plant, came into production on 3 August 2009.

Gold production, which started at the end of the second quarter of 2009, amounted to 3 666 ounces for the year. Throughput was 2 296 000 tonnes at an average yield of 0.05g/t.

Growth projects

Ergo Phase 2, which is at feasibility study stage, anticipates increased gold production and, possibly, the production of uranium and sulphuric acid. Potential synergies between Crown in the west and Ergo in the east are currently being investigated. This would create a seamless surface retreatment operation extending across the central Witwatersrand.