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DRDGOLD LIMITED - DRDGOLD, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), agree terms on Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)

Release Date: 07/12/2012 12:30
Code(s): DRD     PDF:  
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DRDGOLD, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (“TCTA”), agree terms on Acid Mine Drainage (“AMD”)

DRDGOLD LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1895/000926/06)
JSE share code: DRD
ISIN: ZAE000058723
Issuer code: DUSM
NYSE trading symbol: DRD
(“DRDGOLD”)


DRDGOLD, TRANS-CALEDON TUNNEL AUTHORITY (“TCTA”), AGREE TERMS ON ACID MINE DRAINAGE
(“AMD”)


DRDGOLD announced today that three of its subsidiary companies – collectively the Ergo Group – have
entered into heads of agreement with Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), aimed at laying a
foundation for a self-sustainable solution to acid mine drainage (AMD) in the Central Witwatersrand
Basin.

TCTA, acting through directives issued by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs and the
Department of Water Affairs, is to construct pumping and treatment facilities to intercept rising AMD,
and to prevent it from reaching the so-called ‘environmental critical level’.

In terms of the heads of agreement, the Ergo Group grants TCTA:

•   access to land for the construction of a water treatment plant;

•   access to the South West Vertical Shaft of East Rand Proprietary Mines Limited (ERPM) to construct
    and operate a pump station to pump AMD to surface;

•   the right to construct a sludge pipeline, using servitudes owned by Ergo Group members;

•   shared use of an Ergo Group residue pipeline; and

•   partial use of the Ergo tailings dams for the deposition of up to 4 167m³ of sludge per day,
    emanating from the water treatment plant.

Also, in terms of the heads of agreement, Ergo Mining Operations (Pty) Limited (EMO), a member of the
Ergo Group, has an option, at its election, to acquire from TCTA, for its operations, up to 30 mega litres
of untreated or partially treated AMD per day.

DRDGOLD CEO Niël Pretorius said: “While these heads of agreement should not be seen as an
unqualified endorsement of the State’s AMD solution, and do not affect our right to either challenge
future directives or to implement our own initiatives should it become necessary, they are an
encouraging development. In particular if the spirit of cooperation that led to its conclusion is
taken into the implementation and management of the project, this initiative has every chance of
success.”



Johannesburg
7 December 2012



Sponsor: One Capital

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