Johannesburg — ANGLOGOLD Ashanti is working on technology to release 80-million pounds of uranium that is locked up in dumps, as it pushes ahead on major gold projects.

The company aims to maintain a minimum gold output of 1,75-million ounces a year over the next five years, but foresees a dip in production ahead of big projects adding new ounces in 10- 12 years. Last year it produced 1,797- million ounces.

In the short term AngloGold wants to lift uranium production from 1,3-million pounds a year to 2-million pounds. It could generate 1,4-million pounds of uranium this year, accounting for nearly all of SA's uranium production.

AngloGold plans to expand its South Uranium plant to handle increased volumes from its Kopanang mine, which has higher uranium grades and volumes than the Great Noligwa mine, which is nearing the end of its life, Robbie Lazare, executive vice-president in charge of SA, said last week.

AngloGold has 80-million pounds of uranium and 4-million ounces of gold in its mine dumps, but the low recoveries of about 40% in extracting the metal, combined with uranium price forecasts, mean it has not begun exploiting this resource, he said.

"We are in research to significantly up those recoveries. If that works then we've got a substantial portion of uranium we can work on," Mr Lazare told Business Day, pointing out this project is not yet in the scoping study phase.

The technology is secret and he was reluctant to talk about it.

"This opens the potential to set up joint ventures with other mining companies around you or buy their slimes dumps," he said.

The Moab Zaaiplaats extension project has been broken into three phases, the first entailing the application of an Australian drilling technology normally used in soft-rock exploration.

The board has approved the R140m first phase, which will yield results much quicker, and possibly cheaper, than convention drilling, Mr Lazare said.

The second phase, which will go before the board in a year's time, will entail high-speed development to generate early cash flows as the seven-year-long third phase to fully mine Zaaiplaats is unfolded. This early development will determine whether the Zaaiplaats ore body is as broken up as that mined at Moab Khotsong.

"There is a beautiful ore body down there," Mr Lazare said.

The Zaaiplats project, which could generate 5,5-million ounces of gold and extend Moab's life to 2035, will be serviced by Moab's infrastructure, and management is looking at ways to use Noligwa's infrastructure. AngloGold is reluctant to sell Noligwa as it is interlinked with Moab, and dual ownership brings complications.

The second board-approved project is the deepening of the Mponeng mine in a R1,2bn project to mine the Ventersdorp Contact Reef and produce 3,3-million ounces at an average of 237 000oz a year from 2017.

A project yet to gain board approval is called the Mponeng Carbon Leader project, which will yield 14,5-million ounces of gold, including metal from the Savuka mine, which may be put into care and maintenance.