REPURPOSING: DRDGold pays dividends for 19th consecutive year, eyes expansion outside SA
After spinning cash and consistent dividends from Johannesburg’s mine dumps — while removing and vegetating a toxic legacy of the apartheid economy which has had a poisonous impact on mostly poor communities — there is no reason DRDGold’s model could not be applied elsewhere.
DRDGold, a Johannesburg-based mining company, has paid consistent dividends for 19 consecutive years while transforming the city's landscape and addressing the environmental impact of apartheid-era mining. CEO Niël Pretorius sees opportunities for the company to expand its model to mine dumps in other African and South American countries.
This would involve repurposing existing infrastructure and capital, rather than sinking new shafts and investing heavily. Pretorius explained that tailings from closed mines can be seen as "dead capital," with potential to generate wealth if repurposed. DRDGold aims to provide a service-provider/equity partnership for large mining companies with existing infrastructure and tailings, assuming a portion of the risk and generating a self-funded outcome.
The company's success in this venture could help sustain its dividend payments for the foreseeable future.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
