The Krugersdorp-based Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR) operation of JSE- and LSE-listed midtier gold producer Pan African Resources (PAR), commissioned in October 2024 and now fully operational, has become a model for cost-effective, large-scale tailings retreatment and rehabilitation.

The R2.5-billion operation combines innovative bulk tailings remining techniques with long-term community development and environmental restoration initiatives, PAR investor relations head Hethen Hira tells Mining Weekly, adding that MTR is not just about profitability, but also serves to demonstrate how mining operations can coexist with sustainable practices and community upliftment.

Commissioned 14 months after development started, Hira explains the MTR operation adds to PAR’s portfolio of similar ventures, such as its Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP) and Elikhulu operations.

The MTR facility is designed to process 800 000 tonnes of tailings monthly, extracting residual gold at low grades of between 0.3 g/t and 0.5 g/t. Despite the low grades, the sheer scale of the operation ensures profitability through economies of scale, with yearly production expected to exceed 50 000 oz at competitive costs, states Hira.

Payback on the initial investment into MTR is expected in two to three years with estimated all-in sustaining costs of below $1 000/oz.

“. . . we have 1.1-million ounces of recoverable gold reserve here, and we acquired all of it for just over $1/oz . . .” said CEO Cobus Loots in October.

Instead of relying solely on external contractors, PAR’s team retained greater control over costs and schedules. “By applying insights from our prior projects and using a hybrid model, we achieved the efficiency and precision needed to make MTR a success,” Hira explains.

Rehabilitation, Improved Land Use

The MTR operation addresses decades of environmental degradation caused by multiple neglected tailings storage facilities (TSFs) in the region, which were deposited during nearly 80 years of deep underground mining.

By consolidating tailings into modern, lined TSFs, PAR is reducing the environmental footprint while also implementing global standards for safe and responsible tailings rehabilitation and management.

This consolidation also makes the rehabilitated land available for alternative uses, including housing or industrial infrastructure, as seen elsewhere around the Johannesburg central business district.

At PAR’s BTRP operations, a similar approach has already yielded positive results, with rehabilitated land earmarked for extensions to its blueberry farming project, while plans are underway to explore similar initiatives at the MTR site, highlights Hira.

“Consolidating and remining tailings not only reduces pollution but also opens up land for development that can benefit surrounding communities in the long term,” he notes, adding that at MTR there is the added benefit of depositing remined material into old underground workings, which will reduce opportunities for illegal mining in the area.

Renewable-Energy Integration

A cornerstone of PAR’s long-term strategy is the integration of renewable energy at its operations, including the MTR operation.

A prefeasibility study for a 20 MW to 25 MW solar plant is currently underway, with plans to start development in 2025.

The proposed solar facility will build on PAR’s experience in renewable energy, including its May 2022-commissioned 10 MW solar plant at Evander, and the company’s August 2024-commissioned 9 MW plant at Barberton.

In addition to the planned MTR solar plant, PAR has secured wheeling agreements with independent power producers, enabling the delivery of up to 40 MW of renewable energy to its other operations.

These efforts are complemented by studies into extending the Evander plant’s capacity to 30 MW and exploring alternative energy sources such as wind power and battery storage.

“By 2030, we aim to source 50% of our energy needs from renewable sources. “This not only reduces our greenhouse-gas emissions, but also mitigates the financial pressures of rising electricity costs on production, and power disruptions owing to loadshedding,” says Hira.

With mining being a “finite resource”, PAR’s intent is to “leave these areas in a better state than we found them, creating opportunities for communities to thrive even after mining has ceased”, he concludes.