Burnstone is a shallow developmental stage gold mine and processing operation located in the South Rand Goldfield of the Witwatersrand Basin next to the town of Balfour in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, 75km east of Johannesburg.
At 31 December 2021, Burnstone contained surface and underground gold Mineral Reserves of 2.6Moz and Mineral Resources of 9.1Moz.
The mining right for Burnstone is valid from 17 February 2009 to 16 February 2027, covering a total area of 13,135ha.
The Burnstone asset was acquired with the purchase of junior exploration company Wits Gold in July 2014. Burnstone, which was formerly operated as a mine until placed on care and maintenance in mid-2012, comprises two established shaft complexes, a 125,000 ton per month carbon-in-leach gold processing plant, tailings storage facility and related surface infrastructure and mining rights. Prior to 2012, Burnstone had produced approximately 38,000oz of gold.
The mining right for Burnstone is valid from 17 February 2009 to 16 February 2027 and covers a total area of 13,135ha.
Burnstone’s feasibility study was approved by Sibanye in 2015 and site workal started in 2017. Access development was, however, stopped in May 2018 due to company cash requirements and the focus shifted to establishing underground engineering infrastructure in preparation for mining production.
In the first quarter of 2021, the Sibanye-Stillwater Board approved the resumption of the Burnstone project, following completion of a revised mining study. The project aims to target steady state production of approximately 90ktpm (~0.14Moz) within eight years.