JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Friday, April 25, marked the remarkable 130th anniversary of the uninterrupted listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange of South Africa's resilient gold producer, DRDGOLD.

Born out of the gold rush in 1895, 130 years later, DRDGOLD has an impressive market capitalisation of more than R27-billion.

In March, the company declared its eighteenth consecutive financial year of dividend payout while self-funding its Ergo Two and Far West Gold Recoveries projects. 

In addition, Ergo Two’s vital new thrust is the cost-cutting 60 MW solar power plant at the tailings reprocessing plant, plus the commissioning of a 160 MWh battery energy storage system.

DRDGOLD has transitioned well from underground mining to becoming the global on-surface leader in recovering gold from waste dumps in a property-value-adding manner that restores the environment so credibly that original game have returned to one of the restored sites of their own volition.

“We hold deep appreciation for organisations like DRDGOLD,” an upbeat Johannesburg Stock Exchange CEO Liela Fourie highlighted at the stock market celebration covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

As a stock exchange that has long championed sustainability and which is dedicated to being a hive of innovation for financial markets on the African continent, Fourie described DRDGOLD as being a commendable example for broader industry in carving out a sustainable future for South Africa amid the Johannesburg Stock Exchange itself continuing to fortify its position as a capital-raising venue and global investment destination of choice.

“We’ll continuously work with you and the broader ecosystem to grow the South African economy,” Fourie promised.

Looking forward, DRDGOLD CEO Niël Pretorius expressed the hope that in 20 years’ time, the solid foundations being laid by the company now would underpin the 150th anniversary of the listing of the company “in hopefully this very same Johannesburg Stock Exchange venue”.

“A lot of capital is being spent to extend the life of Ergo, extend and fully optimise the life of Far West Gold Recoveries. It’s wonderful to be part of that and it’s wonderful to see the older generation, that have laid the initial foundation, and the new generation of leadership coming through the ranks, who will take this forward, and hopefully some of you will be here in 20 years from now, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of DRDGOLD. Let’s look forward to that next 20 years of developing the full potential of this wonderful company and this wonderful orebody,” Pretorius added.

DRDGOLD CFO Riaan Daval spoke of the DRDGOLD story being intertwined with the story of Egoli, ‘the place of gold’, Johannesburg, as well as “the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, where we are today being very much the stock exchange established to facilitate trading during the first South African gold rush".

“Our company now has a very different business model. Yes, still in gold, and, wow, what a time to be involved with gold, but with a different purpose. Over 130 years, waste was created through the processes of mining gold but not deposited in the best of places.

“As the city of Johannesburg expanded, these yellow mountains lay scattered in between where people live and work, and represent the scar tissue of a much smaller industry now, but in its place a bustling city represented by many other industries and sectors, also on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

“Our purpose is to roll back this environmental legacy of mining by reprocessing this waste and producing gold. We have a vision of mining all the gold waste material still left on the East Rand and on the West Rand of Johannesburg, and depositing it on modern facilities, away from where people live.

“We plan to achieve this through an extensive capital programme and anticipated production increase, which we refer to as Vision 2028. I encourage you to think back to 25 April 1895, exactly 130 years ago, and to celebrate DRDGOLD being the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s longest continuously listed company,” Daval enthused.

The long horizon that still lies ahead for DRDGOLD was pointed out by DRDGOLD nonexecutive chairperson Tim Cumming.

“We were here right at the very beginning and I assure you we’ll be here right at the very end, because when all those deep-level gold mines are finished, we'll still be treating those dumps that have been left, because there’s a lot more gold to be had. So, this is an important milestone, but only one in a continuing journey,” Cumming highlighted.

More than 14 years after Ergo was recommissioned, and having mined through the entire initial reserve base that supported that first capital investment to get it up and running, DRDGOLD is adding more years of production beyond 2040, an endeavour that is providing ongoing employment, restored ecosystems and more land being made available for sustainable use.

Moreover, Far West Gold Recoveries is benefiting from Ergo's learnings to build another mega-project.

The model is dynamic and capable of being transported to other mining operations in Africa and beyond at a time when DRDGOLD has expressed keenness to collaborate with other mining companies in the same way as it has over the past seven years with Sibanye-Stillwater to activate the income-generating potential of its mine waste and apply a significant part of it to environmental restoration.