OVERVIEW
Mining Gold mines are changing hands.
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The golden triangle where the Free State, Gauteng and North West provinces meet is the site of many gold mines, several of which have changed hands or are for sale. Moab Khotsong, which is in the Free State, was purchased from AngloGold Ashanti by Harmony Gold and the decision has been justified by production volumes. Harmony is now considering adding another AngloGold asset to its portfolio, the ultra-deep Mponeng mine. Sibanye-Stillwater is the other potential buyer although that company’s focus seems to be more firmly on the platinum sector. Sibanye Gold came into existence as a result of the unbundling of Gold Fields but it has now been rebranded as Sibanye Stillwater because of the purchase of a platinum and palladium mine in the US of that name. The company is responsible for the Beatrix mine in the Free State but most of its gold assets are in Gauteng. AngloGold Ashanti has sold most of its Vaal River Complex mines to Harmony Gold Mining for $300-million. Most of the mines are in the North West Province, but Great Noligwa and Kopanang mines are in the Free State. The complex includes one uranium plant, four gold plants and one sulphuric acid plant. These assets increased Harmony’s underground resource base in South Africa by nearly 40%. Most of Harmony’s operations, including a tailings treatment plant, are in the Free State. The other mines are Tshipong and Phakisa (near Odendaalsrus), Virginia, Target (near Allanridge), Masimong (Riebeeckstad), Joel (near Theunissen) and Bambanani at Welkom. Phakisa has mineral reserves of just over fivemillion ounces of gold and Harmony has invested heavily in the project. The other buyer from AngloGold Ashanti was Heaven-Sent. The Chinese company, which controls the Tau Lekoa mine through Village Main Reef, bought the Kopanang mine and associated assets for FREE STATE BUSINESS 2020
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SECTOR INSIGHT A minerals beneficiation strategy has been developed.
R100-million. Another Chinese company, Taung Gold, runs the Jeanette mine near Welkom. Gold mines in the Free State also supply a substantial portion of the total silver produced in the country, and large concentrations of uranium occurring in the gold-bearing conglomerates of the goldfields are extracted as a by-product. The mining sector makes up 11% of provincial GDP. A minerals beneficiation strategy has been developed because this is a key area for potential growth.
Diamonds Petra Diamonds’ Koffiefontein mine is on the western edge of the province, about 80km from
