Review of South African Operations

South Deep Gold Mine

Technical short form report (PDF - 1.2MB)

		Conversion of the old order mining right to a new order right The meeting of capital infrastructure milestones, including progress on the reline and equipping of the Twin Ventilation Shaft Continued rehabilitation of the South Shaft to provide access to the Upper Elsburg ore body for mechanised mining An 18% increase in Mineral Reserves from 29.3 million ounces to 34.5 million ounces
PRODUCTION: 8,236 kg (265 000 ozs) TOTAL CASH COSTS: R197,669/kg (US$811/oz)

South Deep is located in the West Rand Goldfield situated in the geologically unique and world-renowned Witwatersrand Basin, which remains the most significant gold depository in the history of mining.

The discovery of the payable Ventersdorp Contact Reef (VCR) and Upper Elsburg conglomerates in the early 1950s, in the southern part of the goldfield, led to the establishment of the Elsburg Gold Mining Company Limited in 1965, which was later consolidated with Western Area Limited (WAL). Continued exploration in the late 1970s confirmed earlier indications that the target reef horizons extend well to the south in the area which has become known as the South Deep Project Area (SDPA).

By 1980 it was recognised that the SDPA ore body, as well as having reefs which could be mined by conventional mining methods, also had potential for wide ore body mechanised mining. In the years to follow, surface and underground drilling, together with detailed seismic surveys, further enhanced the grade distribution and geological models, which led to the establishment of the South Deep Gold Mine in 1990, under the stewardship of JCI. Gold Fields Limited acquired South Deep Gold Mine in December 2006 (Barrick’s 50%) and April 2007 (WAL interest).

¹ December 2010 figures for six months (July 2010 – December 2010)
Rounding off of figures presented in this report may result in minor computational discrepancies. Where this occurs it is not deemed significant.