Name of the Mine
New Consort mine.

Location
Barberton, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Mine Owner/s
Pan African Resources through its 95% ownership of Barberton Mines; 5% owned by employees through an employee share ownership plan.

Brief Description
New Consort mine is one of the three underground operations that comprise the Barberton Mines complex, alongside Fairview and Sheba mines. The mine is known for its high-grade gold deposits and has been operational for more than a century.

Ore is extracted mainly from the Main Muiden reef (MMR) and Prince Consort (PC) shaft sections, located 200 m to 1.5 km below surface.

Brief History
Gold mining in the Barberton area dates to the 1880s. New Consort mine has been a significant contributor to the region's gold production and continues to be an essential part of Pan African Resources' operations.

Primary Metals/Minerals
Gold.

Secondary Metals/Minerals
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation
The Consort mine is geologically divided into two distinct synclinal structures: the Three Shaft Syncline and the Top Section Syncline, separated by the north–south-striking Shires shear zone, which is intruded by pegmatites.

Gold mineralisation is primarily hosted at the contact between the Onverwacht Group schist and the overlying Fig Tree Group metapelite, marked by the siliceous, banded Consort Bar – interpreted as a silicified mylonite. The deposit is an epigenetic hydrothermal lode gold system, with north-dipping Muiden reef pegmatites displacing the south-dipping contact and mineralised zones. Some scheelite mineralisation is also associated with these pegmatites.

A fine-grained siliceous amphibolite body, known as the footwall lens, on the northern limb of the Top Section Syncline, hosts mineralisation in the PC and MMR shoots, characterised by arsenopyrite and visible gold along fractures. The Consort Bar hosts mineralisation in the 7 Shaft, 3 Shaft, and Ivaura zones.

The orebody has been intersected at depths of 1 450 m below adit elevation and remains open at depth.

Reserves
As of June 30, 2024, the Consort mine reported proven and probable reserves of 700 000 t grading 4.75 g/t gold.

Resources
Total mineral resources as at June 30, 2024, were estimated at 970 000 t grading 9.03 g/t gold.

Type of Mine
Underground mining operation

Mining Method
Mechanised underground mining techniques, including cut-and-fill and up-dip room-and-pillar mining methods.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment
The mine consists of adits and subvertical shaft systems, ore transportation systems to surface processing facilities, and an 8 000 t a month processing plant equipped with milling, gravity concentration, and flotation circuits.

Prospects
Studies are being conducted to evaluate the possibility of feeding Sheba Fault project ore into the Consort mine plant as underground feed sources from Consort mine decline over the tail period of the life-of-mine. The mineral reserves of the Clutha section are scheduled to be mined during the final two years of Consort mine’s life.

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