Name of the Mine
Fairview mine.

Location  
Fairview mine is situated within the Barberton greenstone belt, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Mine Owner/s  
Midtier Africa gold producer Pan African Resources.

Brief Description  
Fairview is a key operation of Pan African’s Barberton mines complex. The mine’s properties extend over a surface area of 3 034 ha, of which about 4% is currently disturbed by mining and mining-related activities.  

The mine’s gold is encapsulated within sulphide minerals, making extraction through conventional methods challenging.  To address this, Fairview pioneered the BIOX process – an environment-friendly method that uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to release gold from sulphide (refractory) minerals. Recoveries consistently reach about 98.8%.

Brief History  
The mine boasts more than 130 years of mining heritage, contributing significantly to the 80 000 oz/y of gold produced by the complex. 

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Gold.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Barberton greenstone belt is characterised by its ancient volcanic and sedimentary rocks, making it one of the oldest and most gold-rich greenstone belts in the world. 

The Fairview mine orebody is an epigenetic hydrothermal lode gold deposit. The deepest intersection on the orebody is at a depth of 1 660 m below the adit elevation, about 100 m below the current mining platforms. The orebody remains open at depth.

The geology at Fairview straddles the contact between the arenites of the Moodies Group to the north (Eureka Syncline) and the greywacke and shale of the Fig Tree Group to the south (Ulundi Syncline). This contact is marked by the regionally significant Sheba Fault. The synclines are refolded by intense deformation, resulting in back-to-back isoclines that dip steeply south. Tight isoclinal, thrust fault-related anticlines of the Onverwacht Group schist (Zwartkoppie Formation) occur within the greywacke of the Fig Tree Group.

Reserves  
As at June 30, 2024, total proven and probable reserves were estimated at 2.27-million tonnes grading 9.01 g/t gold.

Resources  
Total measured, indicated and inferred resources as at June 30, 2024, were estimated at 4.49-million tonnes grading 9.82 g/t gold.

Type of Mine
An underground mining complex comprising adits and subdecline shaft systems.

Mining Method  
Semimechanised up-dip cut-and-fill and up-dip room and stick mining, which are effective in minimising dilution and maximising ore recovery.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
Ore is transported through three decline shaft systems to 11 Level. From there, it is crushed and transported by an aerial bucket system to the Fairview metallurgical plant. The plant consists of a milling, gravity gold separation, flotation, BIOX and carbon-in-pulp circuit, along with carbon regeneration, elution and electrowinning circuits, as well as a smelt house. The plant has a processing capacity of 135 000 t/month.

Tailings from the Fairview metallurgical plant are pumped to the Barberton tailings retreatment plant (BTRP) circuit for further processing before deposition. The BTRP also includes a smelt house.

An 8.75 MW solar PV plant supplies an estimated 15% of Barberton Mines' energy requirements, reducing reliance on external power sources and decreasing carbon emissions by about 22 000 t/y.

Prospects  
Ongoing investments in modern exploration software, improved infrastructure and advanced equipment have enhanced its adaptability to diverse geological conditions. 

Near-surface resources have been identified close to hoisting infrastructure. These higher-grade zones are expected to replace lower-grade surface stockpiles currently feeding the metallurgical plant, thereby improving overall feed quality.

Contact Details 
Pan African Resources
Tel +27 11 243 2900
Email info@paf.co.za
Website https://www.panafricanresources.com/