DRDGOLD, a South African gold producer, has reached a significant milestone in its Vision 2028 expansion strategy by completing the new elution circuit and smelt house at its Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR) Driefontein 2 (DP2) facility, resulting in the successful production of its first gold bar.

The company's Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries activities have focused on prolonging mine life, increasing production efficiency, and lowering environmental impact by recovering old mining waste.

The first gold pour was a watershed event for FWGR staff, who saw gold being created on-site for the first time rather than shipping processed material off-site for ultimate refining.

Plant Manager, Louis Pretorius regarded the event as a big accomplishment for the employees.

"The initial capital estimate was met, and we came in on time and within budget," DRDGOLD CEO Niël Pretorius reported during a webinar in which DRDGOLD CFO Henriette Hooijer, as seen in Mining Weekly.

DRDGOLD COO Jaco Schoeman also participated to provide an update on the progress of Vision 2028, DRDGOLD's five-project programme involving a capital expenditure of R10-billion.

Following the smelt, the 17 kilogram gold bar was taken from the site via helicopter under tight security protocols.

Once commissioned, the DP2 extension is planned to boost processing capacity from 500,000 tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes per month. At full capacity, the facility is planned to operate for approximately 16 years.

As commissioning proceeds, DRDGOLD will process material via the new carbon-in-leach circuit while doing maintenance on the old processing circuit, which has been in operation since 2018.

The DP2 project is part of DRDGOLD's R10 billion Vision 2028 investment programme, which aims to increase production capacity, prolong mine life, and enhance operational efficiency throughout the Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries operations.

During an earlier phase of the strategy, the business commissioned a 60 MW solar power plant and an 187 MWh battery energy storage facility at Ergo. Since it began operations in the fiscal year 2025, the renewable energy project has supplied about half of Ergo's electricity consumption for around 12 hours per day, enhancing energy security while lowering operational costs and carbon emissions.

"We're now seeing years of planning and investment translate into operating assets," said Pretorius, while pointing out that Vision 2028 is creating the infrastructure that will support the next generation of DRDGOLD.

"As each project comes online, we're not simply adding capacity; we're strengthening the resilience of the business, improving our ability to generate free cash flow and creating a platform for long-term shareholder value," added Pretorius.

The program has also achieved another significant milestone with the reopening of the Daggafontein tailings storage facility, which adds 120 million tonnes of storage capacity.

The larger Vision 2028 initiative, which is supported by a 135-kilometer pipeline network that is currently around 95% complete, is expected to expand DRDGOLD's processing capacity to 3 million tonnes per month and annual gold output to between 185,000 and 195,000 ounces.