The Gamsberg team was able to robustly review the capital cost of Phase 1 and reduce it from US$600 million to US$400 million. From the first blast for Phase 1 in July 2015, pre-start mining advanced according to schedule. Completion in April 2017 of an access ramp – essential for waste pre-stripping to access the ore body for bulk mining – was a significant milestone.
By June 2017, full waste pre-stripping rate of 3.5Mtpm had been achieved and is expected to continue at this rate until the start of ore production in Quarter 1 of -2018. In the course of prestart mining and pre-stripping, more than 44.5Mt of waste had been moved; by the start of production, the total will be 65-70Mt.
