Pan African Resources PLC (LON:PAF) has announced the first gold pour at its Elikhulu tailings retreatment plant in South Africa.
The construction of Elikhulu was completed ahead of schedule and within its 1.74bn Rand (£95mln) budget, the miner said.
The project’s commissioning phase is scheduled to be completed next month, with steady state production of approximately 55,000 ounces of gold per annum at an all-in sustaining cost of between US$650/oz and 700/oz.
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Once the Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant, which has a throughput of 200,000 tonnes per month, comes on stream in December, production is expected to rise to 70,000oz.
Over the life of the Project, Elikhulu is expected to produce 674,000oz of gold, with a value of approximately 11.5bn Rand (£622mln) at a gold price of 550,000 Rand/kg (£29,800/kg).
“The completion of Elikhulu’s construction and the inaugural gold pour, ahead of schedule and in line with the project budget, is a further significant milestone as we deliver into our strategy of repositioning the group as a low-cost, long-life gold producer,” said chief executive Cobus Loots.
“We expect Elikhulu to be a flagship operation within our low-cost, long-life asset base, and we will continue to focus on improving and expanding our portfolio in a sustainable manner to the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Shares rose 3.7% to 7.8p early on Thursday.