Doornkop is a mature, deep-level single-shaft operation some 30km west of Johannesburg, on the northern rim of the Witwatersrand Basin. Its remaining life of mine is currently 14 years.
The operation focuses on narrow-reef conventional mining of the South Reef gold-bearing conglomerate reef. Mining reaches depths of 2 219m. Ore is processed at the Doornkop plant, which uses the carbon-in-pulp process.
OPERATING PERFORMANCE FY21
Sadly, the Doornkop plant recorded one fatality, and the LTIFR deteriorated by 13% to 6.9 per million hours worked.
Operating efficiencies contributed to higher gold production at 3 670kg, reflecting a 25% increase in mill tonnes which helped to offset the marginal drop in grade. This is a ten-year record for Doornkop.
Plant optimisation and ongoing development boosted capex by 51%, thereby directly benefitting production levels.
The 36% increase in revenues reflected the substantially higher production and the 14% improvement in the gold price over the period. Cash operating costs were 29% higher at R2 186 million, attributable mainly to wage increases, higher electricity tariffs and additional labour.