Mining Magazine July 2014 | Page 103

MINING post-closure to help address a chronic housing shortfall .
Mogale Gold The extraction of minerals from ore requires that the ore be ground into fine particles , so tailings are typically small and range from the size of a grain of sand to a few micrometres and are usually produced from mills in slurry form .
On completion in September-October this year , the Mogale site will be able to treat six million tonnes of tailings slime , sand and hard rock .
General Manager of Operations Jan Jacobs added : “ The re-opening of the second Mogale plant will take capacity up by 400,000 tonnes to over half a million tonnes a month . This is not our only development , but is by far the biggest ongoing project .”
The company , set up in 2005 , acquired the Mogale site in 2006 which saw it taken out of government control . In total it controls around 106 million tonnes of tailings resources .
Going underground Alongside its continuing open-pit operations , Mintails is targeting significant growth underground and opened its D-shaft asset in February this year , producing around 5,000 tonnes a month .
“ This project is a demonstration of principle rather than sheer volume ,” Jacobs said . “ It shows that underground mining here is possible and a
Inspection of the mine site by Operations Managers
www . mintails . co . za 103