Mintails Limited (MLI) – Recreating ERGO with a 300,000ozpa Gold Production Target

• Mintails (MLI) which had the rights to a number of sand and slimes dams west of Johannesburg in South Africa, merged with Skeat Mining who had their own mining fleet (of CAT 777’s) and an option over the old ERGO treatment plants and some sand and grit dumps east of Johannesburg in January 2007. The result is a company that could restart a more efficient ERGO, producing gold & uranium.
• Anglogold’s ERGO (East Rand Gold Operations) treated over 900mt of sand and slime in a 27-year period from early 1978 to December 2004, and produced about 8.3moz gold and possibly ~2,500t of uranium. In its peak years, (not all the same year) it treated 51mt of slime, produced over 460,000oz gold and ~300t of uranium.
• When ERGO closed its Brakpan plant in 2004, there were still a number of slimes dams that could be processed within its own stable and those owned by other mining companies, but they became uneconomic at a cost of US$400/oz (including head office expenses), and ERGO was wound down and closed during MQ 2005.
• Mintails can be subdivided into 3 divisions, namely : sand and grit, slimes, and other projects. The sand and grit operations at Mogale in the west and HVH in the east, are providing the current cashflow while the WERGO slimes plant is being constructed for gold and possibly uranium production adjacent to Mogale, and WERGO – East could be based on refurbishing the old ERGO plant at Brakpan.
• MLI could be able to achieve production of 300,000ozpa from treating 3.6mtpm by the end of 2011, however, we have used a more conservative build up to 2012.