• Data Access
  • Your Email  
  • Your Email  
Keep me signed in.
Forgot your password?
Close
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Enter the email you signed up with and we'll email it to you.
  • Your Email  
Close
Back
MDO
Mining Data Solutions
  • Home
  • Database
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
South Africa
Barberton Mine (Barberton Operation)

This page is not tailored to
devices with screen width under 750 px.
 Location:
6 km NE from Barberton, South Africa

  Address:
Fairview mine, off the R38 on Provincial Road D2195
P.O. Box 121
Barberton
South Africa
1300
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax+27-(0)-11-880-1240
WebsiteWeb
Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors
Drill results over 30 g/t Au
Stay on top of recent discoveries.
Search drill results by commodity and grade.
Largest mines in the Americas
Mining and mill throughput capaciites.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Deepest underground mines
Shaft depth and mill throughput data.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Heavy mobile equipment
HME type, model, size and quantity.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Permitting and construction projects
Projects at the permitting or construction stage. Full profiles of select projects.
Mines with remote camps
Camp size, mine location and contacts.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Mines & projects in South Africa
A list of country's mines and projects.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

Thank you for browsing through mine profiles compiled by the Mining Data Online team.

Would you like to subcribe or schedule a Demo?
  • Name:
     
  • Company:
     
  • Position:
     
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • Message:

Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeUnderground
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Breast mining
  • Cut & Fill
  • Longhole open stoping
Processing
  • Carbon re-activation kiln
  • Centrifugal concentrator
  • Bacterial oxidation (BIOX)
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Gravity separation
  • Smelting
  • Flotation
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Concentrate leach
  • Carbon in leach (CIL)
  • Carbon in pulp (CIP)
  • Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
  • Elution
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)
Mine Life20 years (as of Jan 1, 2021)
The Fairview, New Consort and Sheba underground operations that constitute the Group’s Barberton Mines complex have been operating for over 130 years and Sheba Mine is recorded as one of the oldest working gold mines in the world.


Owners

Source:
CompanyInterestOwnership
BEE 22.11 % Indirect
Pan African Resources plc 77.89 % Indirect

Deposit Type

  • Hydrothermal
  • Vein / narrow vein


Summary:

The mineralisation at Barberton Mines is classified as Achaean epigenetic hydrothermal lode gold deposits within a granite greenstone terrain. The distribution and localisation of these orebodies in the BGB can be largely attributed to the combined influence of thermal metamorphism and structural deformation. The BGB has produced approximately 11Moz of gold since the first discovery in the early 1880s. Barberton Mines has produced more than 75% of the total production from the BGB.

Mineralisation at Barberton Mines is typically continuous in the short- to medium-range on strike with long-range geological and grade continuity being experienced down-dip. Gold occurs in either vein-hosted ore lode deposits or as free milling gold associated with fine grade sulphides, mainly pyrite and arsenopyrite.

The Barberton ores are thus mineralised shears with gold occluded in sulphide minerals. The sulphides often occur as massive assemblages in the shear structure. Lower grade ore, in the wall rock, form as a result of the alteration process during fluid flow and is associated with disseminated sulphide minerals. A late stage of gold mineralisation occurred in brittle fractures with the formation of quartz veins. These quartz veins often contain free gold in visible clusters.

Fairview Mine
The Fairview Mine orebody is an epigenetic hydrothermal lode gold deposit. Three distinct types of mineralisation occur at the mine:
• Refractory sulphidic ore, which constitutes the bulk of the mined ore, is hosted in the greywacke and shale sequence of the Fig Tree Group. The mineralisation is found in close association with an anastomosing shear system that often parallels the stratigraphy and lithological contacts. Auriferous pyrite and arsenopyrite mineralisation are confined to ribbon-like shoots within the shear system and as disseminations in the wall rock. The shears are often defined by quartz-carbonate veining and the host rock can be sericitised and carbonatised on either side of the shear.

• A coarse clastic unit of the Fig Tree Group hosts a series of hanging wall bodies. This coarse clastic unit consists of thick-bedded to massive greywacke, grading into arenite with interbedded granule stone layers. Two quartz-porphyry dykes and two dolerite dykes intrude the host rock sediments. Although the mineralised fractures persist for up to 500m, payable gold values are confined to several discrete ribbon-like payshoots. Blue-black quartz veins, quartz-carbonate veins and stockworks are recognised in the hanging wall area.

• Quartz veins, containing free-milling gold, occur in the Moodies Group in the footwall of the Sheba Fault. The blue-grey quartz veins fill near-vertical cross-cutting fractures in the siliceous, brittle quartzite units. Gold mineralisation generally occurs within the vein, but may penetrate the adjacent host rock. Only minor pyrite and arsenopyrite are associated with this ore type.

Sheba Mine
The Sheba orebody is an epigenetic hydrothermal lode gold deposit. Three distinct types of mineralisation occur at the mine:
• Refractory sulphidic ore (MRC section), which constitutes the bulk of the mined ore, is hosted in the greywacke and shale sequence of the Fig Tree Group. The mineralisation is found in close association with a shear system in the immediate hanging wall of greenschist anticlines of the Zwartkoppie Formation. Auriferous pyrite and arsenopyrite mineralisation occurs as massive replacement veins within the shear system and as disseminations in the wall rock.
• The ZK section is characterised by the occurrence of visible gold and disseminated pyrite in the greenschist as the prominent mineralisation, in association with shear and fracture-hosted smoky and white quartz veins.
• The mineralisation of the Royal Sheba orebody is encapsulated in a shear envelope of the Sheba Fault, ranging in width from 5m to 25m. The gold mineralisation occurs predominantly in sulphide minerals and as native gold.

The New Consort orebody is an epigenetic hydrothermal lode gold deposit. Gold mineralisation at the New Consort section is associated with the contact between the underlying schist of the Onverwacht Group and the overlying metapelite of the Fig Tree Group. This contact is marked by the presence of the Consort ‘bar’, a highly siliceous banded chert. The Consort Bar is thought to be a silicified mylonite occupying the contact. A series of north-dipping tabular pegmatites, termed the Muiden Reef pegmatites, displace the south-dipping Consort contact and the mineralised shoots. Some scheelite mineralisation has been recorded, associated with the pegmatites.


Mining Methods

  • Breast mining
  • Cut & Fill
  • Longhole open stoping


Summary:

Barberton Mines comprises Fairview Mine, Sheba Mine and New Consort Mine.

Fairview Mine is an underground complex consisting of adits and sub-decline shaft systems.The mining operations is carried out using semi-mechanised up-dip cut-and-fill mining method. Gold rich orebodies are mined from near surface to approximately 1.7km below surface at the 11-block MRC orebody. Ore is transported through three decline shaft systems to 11 Level. From here, the ore is crushed and transported via an aerial bucket system to the Fairview metallurgical plant.

New Consort Mine is an underground complex consisting of adits and subvertical shaft systems. The mining operations is carried out using up-dip cut-and-fill mining method. Ore is extracted mainly from the MMR, PC and 3 Shaft sections, located 200m to 1.5km below surface. The ore is transported through the shaft system to the New Consort metallurgical plant.

Sheba Mine is an underground complex consisting of adits and subvertical shaft systems. The mining operations are carried out using up-dip cut-and-fill and long hole open stoping mining methods. Ore is mined from near surface from the MRC, Sheba West and Thomas orebodies to approximately 1.2km below surface in the Zwartkoppie (ZK) orebody. The ore is transported through the shaft system to the Sheba metallurgical plant.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Carbon re-activation kiln
  • Centrifugal concentrator
  • Bacterial oxidation (BIOX)
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Gravity separation
  • Smelting
  • Flotation
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Concentrate leach
  • Carbon in leach (CIL)
  • Carbon in pulp (CIP)
  • Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
  • Elution
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)

Source: Subscription required

Summary:

Fairview metallurgical plant.
Fairview metallurgical plant consists of a milling, gravity gold separation, flotation, BIOX® and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) circuit with a carbon regeneration section, elution (and electro-winning) circuit and smelt house. The Fairview plant capacity is 13.5ktpm.

New Consort metallurgical plant.
Ore from New Consort Mine is crushed, milled, gravity gold concentrated and floated. The float concentrate is transported to the Fairview BIOX® section for further processing, while the tails are subjected to the New Consort carbonin-leach (CIL) circuit. The loaded carbon from the CIL section is transported to Fairview for elution (and electro-winning). The total capacity of the New Consort metallurgical plant is 8ktpm.

Sheba metallurgical plant.
Ore from Sheba mine is crushed and milled, gravity separated and floated. The gravity concentrate is smelted in the Fairview smelt house. Flotation concentrate is transported to the Fairview ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter2021202020192018201720162015
Gold Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required93929291
Gold Head Grade, g/t  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required10.39.81110.9

Production:

CommodityUnits2021202020192018201720162015
Gold oz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required73,12571,76384,69081,493
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics202120202019201820172016
Annual mining capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required432,000 t300,000 t300,000 t300,000 t
Annual production capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required110 koz of gold metal in doré95 koz of gold metal in doré95 koz of gold metal in doré95 koz of gold metal in doré
Tonnes processed  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required293,264 t237,831 t246,915 t268,383 t
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at June 30, 2021:
Mineral Reserves cut-off values are calculated at 7.27g/t for Fairview Mine, 5.38g/t for Sheba Mine, 7.59g/t for New Consort Mine.
Mineral Resources cut-off values are calculated at 1.94g/t for Fairview Mine, 2.26g/t for Sheba Mine, 3.18g/t for New Consort Mine.

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven & Probable 14.5 Mt Gold 3.48 g/t 1.62 M oz
Total Resource 24.3 Mt Gold 4.83 g/t 3.5 M oz

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits2021202020192018201720162015
Cash costs (sold) Gold USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required 1,053 / oz 953 / oz 694 / oz 840 / oz
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold USD  ......  Subscription required†  ......  Subscription required†  ......  Subscription required† 1,227 / oz† 1,147 / oz† 886 / oz† 1,021 / oz†
All-in costs Gold USD  ......  Subscription required†  ......  Subscription required†  ......  Subscription required† 1,242 / oz† 1,204 / oz† 897 / oz† 1,039 / oz†
† Net of By-Product.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operating Costs:

Units2021202020192018201720162015
Total operating costs ($/t milled) ZAR 4,3193,5113,8134,1633,7643,1783,006

Financials:

Units2021202020192018201720162015
Capital expenditures M ZAR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required125   167.1   131.6   109.3  
Revenue M ZAR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required1,215   1,228   1,435   1,131  
EBITDA M ZAR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required247   408.6   422.4   301.8  
Subscription required - Subscription is required


Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2021
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2020
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2019
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2018
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2017
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2016
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2015

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Integrated Report 2018
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2018
Annual Report 2017
Annual Report 2016
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Aerial view:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2017-2022 MDO Data Online Inc.