Ergo Gold Project (Brakpan Tailings)

South Africa / Gauteng / Brakpan /
 mining, tailings
This is the Brakpan tailings deposition site which is part of DRDGold's Ergo gold recovery project called Ergo. (ErgoGold). The quartzite rock is ground to fine sand and powder, deadly sodium cyanide is used to extract the gold, and the toxic waste sand is pumped to these great piles. The "lake" in the middle can be hazardous for years after mining has stopped.

Reference for information:
www.drd.co.za/b/ergo.asp
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   26°21'25"S   28°18'44"E

Comments

  • They have been re-processing some dumps, as the techniques used in the early 20th century did not remove all the gold. Entire dumps are removed this way, and the waste is then transferred to other large dumps such as this one.
This article was last modified 12 years ago