Review of South African Operations

Driefontein Gold Mine

Technical short form report (PDF - 838KB)

		During financial 2010 Driefontein produced 709,800 ounces of gold at a cash cost of R168,568 per kilogram (US$692 per ounce) and an NCE of R225,208 per kilogram (US$924 per ounce). During the next 12 months to end-June 2011 the outlook for Driefontein is to produce between 707,300 and 771,600 ounces of gold at a cash cost of between R170,000 and R185,000 per kilogram and an NCE of between R217,000 and R230,000 per kilogram.
Driefontein’s No 1 plant during winter at dusk
PRODUCTION: 22,076 kg (710,000 ozs) TOTAL CASH COSTS: R168,568 /kg (US$692/oz)

The Driefontein Gold Mine, which is located 70 kilometers west of Johannesburg, near Carletonville in the Gauteng province of South Africa, has produced more than 100 million ounces of gold during its 50-year life. Despite its prolific production history, this mine still has 52.0 million ounces of gold Mineral Resources, which includes approximately 17.2 million ounces of Mineral Reserves. Driefontein is a large, well-established deep to ultra-deep-level gold mine with its lowest working level some 3,400 meters below surface. Geologically the Driefontein Gold Mine is located on the north western rim of the famous Witwatersrand Basin, one of the greatest gold regions of the world. Three primary reefs are exploited; the Ventersdorp Contact Reef (VCR) located at the top of the Central Rand Group; the Carbon Leader Reef (CL) near the base; and the Middelvlei Reef (MR), which stratigraphically occurs some 50 to 75 meters above the CL. The mine comprises eight producing shaft systems, that mine different contributions from pillars and open ground, and three gold plants of which one plant processes mainly underground ore, with the remaining two processing surface material.

Gold produced (’000oz)		Hlanganani Shaft		A machine operator holding a steel drill

* TEC= total employees costed.