SA gold Burnstone project suffers industrial action and skill shortage

The Burnstone project schedule was negatively impacted by the industrial action in 2022, combined with a shortage of skills and trackless mobile machinery. The project scope has been amended to incorporate these constraints, with initial production from Burnstone now

expected in 2024.

Early works on the metallurgical plant have commenced in line with schedule and the integrated water use license application (IWULA) will be re-submitted to the Department of Water and Sanitation in June 2023 after addressing queries raised by the regulators.

During Q1 2023 project capital of R373 million (US$21 million) was incurred. This was below planned capital, primarily as a result of lower ORD, weather delays and load shedding impact on the availability of electrical equipment.

The tragic conveyor incident at Burnstone in April 2023 is likely to cause a delay in completion of the shaft rock handling system by about four months. The full impact of the incident has yet to be determined.