The Argonaut gold project will proceed under the new Minerals Act.
That line flashed up on the screen like a bolt out of the blue
during the presentation of the quarterly results of South Africa’s
fourth-largest gold-mining company Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD) by
CEO Mark Wellesley-Wood. The shock of it all is that the Argonaut
Project runs under Johannesburg on the Central Rand, where it all
happened 116 years ago. The project has hardly been mentioned since
former DRD MD Mike Prinsloo left the company nearly two years
ago.
Argonaut is also resurfacing after some enthusiastic remarks about
the Central Rand by the Viljoen brothers, Prof Richard Viljoen and
Prof Morris Viljoen, of the University of the Witwatersarand’s
Centre fosample maize milling machine business planr Applied Mining and Exploration Geology (Mining Weekly
July 12–18, 2002).
Wellesley-Wood’s reference to Argonaut came during his outlining of
DRD reserves and resources.
Detailing that DRD resources now total 71-million ounces, he
mentioned, predictably, the company’s largest resource, the
27,4-million ounces at Blyvooruitzicht gold-mine on the West Wits,
near Carletonville, which, sintering of iron ore before bfas it turns out, is not that much
greater than Argonaut’s. Out popped the lowdown on Joburg’s Central
Rand, with the words, „and also the Argonaut project with
26,3-million ounces. That’s the area, at depth, on the Central
Rand“.
„We have been looking at a sensible internal rate of return for
Argonaut at above R100 000 a kilogram,“ he said, adding that it had
always been a long-term project for DRD, which was now going to be
the sufuerza para girar un motor electricobject of a feasibility study, beginning in the next quarter,
in view of the implementation of the new Minerals Act and the
higher rand gold price. There is an expectation of a sinking of
several new shafts with potential depths below 4 000 m.
„It’s a dream project,“ is what Prinsloo, now head of South African
Operations at Gold Fields, said of the surprising sub-Joburg
venture that could bring the hum of large mine headgears backequipment to remove sand from river to
the Golden City (Mining Weekly of March 26–April 1,
1999).
Among the factors contributing to his enthusiasm is the fact that
there is more inform- ation on Argonaut than on any remaining
deep-level resource. A depth extension of the historic and famous
Witwatersrand where nearly 50 000 t of gold has been mined since
gold’s discovery there in 1886, Argonaut extends from the West Rand
to the East Rand. An initial three-dimensiodifferentiate between ball mill and tube millnal prefeasibility study
found that a full feasibility study was warranted.
At that stage, Argonaut was awaiting a gold price trigger of only
R70 000/kg.
A recovered grade of 8 g/t was expected on the Main Reef and one of
7,5 g/t on the Main Reef leader.
There was talk of average depths of 3 200 m, down to 4 000 m across
the Central Rand, as a first stage.
The Main Reef leader across the Central Rand has a narrow 400 mm to
1,2 m channel containing some 80-million ounces inferred across the
entire area. The full Argonaut would involve up to three mine
systems, each with more than 12 years of life, good tonnage
profiles and each producing 500 000 oz/y of gold. There is further
potential to go below 4 000 m.
Considering the new minerals legislation, an Argonaut success by
DRD would make the company a great hit with the government.
Levels of black economic empowerment would be raised and a dream of
DRD shareholder, Khumo Bathong chairperson Dr Paseka Ncholo to mine
the Central Rand once again would be reached.
A price tag is still to come, but the expectation in some circles
is that it will be in the region of R6-billion.