Zebra, blesbok and wildebeest are returning to remined tailings sites where mine dumps once scarred the landscape.

'Caution: Wild Game on Site" proclaims a sign on the perimeter fence featuring the silhouette of a wildebeest in a red triangle.

The setting for the sign is highly unusual: the entrance to the massive Brakpan Tailings Facility, which has risen from the residue of the mine dumps that DRDGold is remining and rehabilitating around Johannesburg.

"We noticed wildlife like warthogs and jackal returning to the area," CEO Niel Pretorius told Daily Maverick during a recent visit to the site, which included a helicopter ride over it and several of the dumps that DRDGold is remining.

"So we decided to reintroduce more game here," he said. Black wildebeest, blesbok, zebra and sable have been brought in and now graze the grasslands around the hulking tailings dam. More than 20km of sturdy fencing surrounds the facility, enclosing more than 900ha in total.

Local poachers also noticed the returning wildlife and had been hunting game with dogs until the erection of the fence.

The facility has a nursery where indigenous trees are grown. Natural soil is spread on the rising banks of the dam, allowing...