Wildebeest on a Brakpan mine dump: DRDGold’s plan to reverse gold mining legacy – CEO Niël Pretorius

More than a century of mining in the Witwatersrand has left behind vast mine dumps stretching from Randfontein to Springs. But at the Brakpan tailings facility, wildlife is making a comeback. Mining company DRDGold has rehabilitated the site by cladding mine waste with soil, allowing natural vegetation to return spontaneously. This, in turn, has attracted wildlife back to the area—prompting the company to reintroduce zebras, blesbok, and wildebeest. In an interview with BizNews, CEO Niël Pretorius said the initiative is part of a broader effort to reverse the environmental legacy of over a century of gold mining. Next on his rehabilitation list: the Russell Stream, which runs from Braamfontein to Orlando. Pretorius also shared how DRDGold has benefited from the financial windfall of soaring gold prices, which have climbed from R65,000 to R1.9 million. This surge, he said, is enabling significant capital investments..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here:.Listen here:.Edited transcript of the interview.Linda van Tilburg (00:02.663) Johannesburg is famed for the discovery of gold that transformed the fortunes of many, but 120 years later, abandoned mines across the East and West Rand have left behind sprawling mine dumps, some towering over 100 meters. While some are being reclaimed for residual gold, many still scar the landscape. One remarkable exception is a tailings facility in Brakpan, where a once-toxic dump now hosts zebras and blesbok wildlife. Joining us in the studio is Niël Pretorius, the CEO of DRDGOLD, to share the story behind this transformation. Hi, Niël. Lovely to have you with us.What inspired the transformation of this mine dump into a nature conservation area?Niël Pretorius (00:51.225) It’s a wonderful coincidence. We acquired this facility around 2007 or 2008 from AngloGold Ashanti as part of the old Ergo operation. Our business model focuses on reclaiming old tailings dumps across the Johannesburg landscape, like the ones you mentioned. At the time, our operation at Crown Mines, just south of Johannesburg, was nearing the end of its life, so we needed a new site. Ergo was the obvious choice. We had millions of tons of material to process, but you can’t redeposit old mine waste where you reclaim it—it needs a new facility. The Brakpan tailings facility was available and ideal for this purpose.As the dam grew in height, we clad its sides with natural soil to prevent dust from the fine, powdery material—think baby powder—spreading into nearby communities, which are moving closer to these dumps due to limited space. As we covered the slopes with soil, natural vegetation began to re-establish spontaneously. Unlike another facility near Nasrec, which required mulching, irrigation, and planting, this one took care of itself due to its gentler slope. The soil stabilized, vegetation returned, and with it came insects, birds, small rodents, civets, warthogs, and other wildlife.We then decided to fence the entire 400-hectare facility, which sits on about 1,500 to 2,000 hectares of land, with a concrete palisade to protect the small game from roaming dogs and hunting. Our team, who all love the outdoors, thought, “Why not see if savannah species would thrive here?” So, we reintroduced several species, and they’ve flourished. They don’t know they’re living half a meter from old mine waste—they seem to love it.Linda van Tilburg (04:16.365) How much game do you have now?Niël Pretorius (04:18.467) We’ve got a mix of naturally occurring and reintroduced species. Jackals, warthogs, small cats, abundant birdlife, and snakes thrive due to the nearby wetlands, containment ponds, and return water dams. We reintroduced blesbok, sable antelope, zebras, blue wildebeest, and red hartebeest, among others. They’re reproducing well, with ample space and no hunting, so they’ve adapted happily.Linda van Tilburg (05:15.796) Is poaching a concern, with the local community seeing this as a potential food source?Niël Pretorius (05:20.846) Not really. This is an active mining facility with well-organized security and patrols. The high concrete palisade fence is tough to breach. In the past, there was some hunting with dogs and snaring, but that’s no longer an issue. We do allow local informal farmers to bring cattle into the area for grazing, as cattle are considered capital in these communities, but they must remove them by evening. We’re approaching a point where we may phase out grazing to focus solely on game, but we own around 8,000 hectares of land around Johannesburg and Carletonville, so we can allocate other areas for community use as part of our corporate social investment. Linda van Tilburg (06:50.633) What happens if the game population grows too large? Would you introduce predators or cull them?Niël Pretorius (06:59.661) We’d likely opt for controlled culling, done in a way that supports local communities, perhaps as a food source. It would align with sustainable development principles, not sport hunting or corporate entertainment. We’ve also supported informal farming initiatives to help the poorest communities take steps out of poverty. Some of these farmers now supply major retailers like Pick n Pay, while others remain subsistence based. Integrating game meat into this supply chain could be a future possibility. The land should be used productively to avoid attracting unwanted attention.Linda van Tilburg (08:41.011) It sounds like you’ve built a strong partnership with the local community to preserve this area.Niël Pretorius (08:48.847) Absolutely. Our operations are deeply embedded in these communities, so we can’t ignore their needs or the environmental impact of our work. Many of these communities lack the resources to advocate for themselves, so if we don’t create a tolerable environment, it could lead to unrest, which is disruptive and unsafe. We aim to build sustainable social capital. Unlike charity-based programs that foster dependency, we provide knowledge and small capital investments to help communities become self-sustaining. This project, which started around 2008, is part of that vision. It’s not for corporate entertainment—it’s about creating lasting value for the community.Linda van Tilburg (11:12.573) Are you considering similar projects for other mine dumps?Niël Pretorius (11:17.817) All our final tailings storage facilities undergo concurrent rehabilitation, with vegetation added as the dams rise. Not all will become wildlife havens like Brakpan, but nature has a remarkable ability to recover if given a chance. For example, at the Crown Mines complex near Nasrec, we’ve vegetated extensively to reduce dust for nearby communities. In 2006 or 2007, my colleague Henry Gouws requested R16 million to start this, and over nearly 20 years, we’ve spent hundreds of millions to clad and vegetate that site, nearly eliminating dust issues. You’ll see insects, birds, rodents, snakes, and small raptors there too. Nature finds a way.Our next big ambition is to rehabilitate the Russell Stream, which runs from Braamfontein to Orlando, by desilting it and removing sewage, industrial effluent, and mine salts. We’ve had encouraging discussions with the Department of Minerals, who recognize our potential role. In 10 to 15 years, we hope to have several fully cladded tailings facilities, some with wildlife, and a revitalized Russell Stream. That would be a significant legacy.Linda van Tilburg (14:50.075) Niël, we can’t have you here without asking about DRDGOLD’s performance, especially with electricity challenges in Johannesburg, soaring gold prices, and geopolitical risks. How is DRDGOLD doing?Niël Pretorius (15:21.22) When I joined DRDGOLD in 2003, we were surviving on a gold price of R65,000 per kilo. Today, it’s around R1.9 million per kilo—unimaginable back then. To optimize our 600 million tonnes of mine waste in Johannesburg and Carletonville, we’re upgrading infrastructure, as some facilities are too small or nearing the end of their life. The Brakpan tailings facility, for instance, will close in two to three years after adding another 10 meters. We’re developing new facilities to replace it, and in Carletonville, capital investments will extend the life of our Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries operations by 15 to 18 years.With a market capitalsation of about $1.3 billion, we’re investing roughly 25–30% of that into capital projects—around R2.5 to R3 billion annually—for the next two years. The high gold price enables these cash flows, allowing us to clean up old mine dumps while offering investors solid returns. We’re addressing hundreds of hectares of dust-prone dumps, with more to be cleared, making land available for community use.Linda van Tilburg (18:37.871) Geopolitical risks seem to benefit you with high gold prices. Is that fair to say?Niël Pretorius (18:44.909) Yes, but it’s more than just geopolitics. Years ago, gold prices spiked with instability—energy supply issues or conflicts—but would crash when Western interest waned. Recently, the dynamics shifted. Certain jurisdictions began accumulating gold as a hedge against dollar weakness, especially after the U.S. injected large amounts of money into its economy. This has supported gold prices at higher levels for the past three to five years. Geopolitical instability now adds to this, alongside Western hedging against currency risks.South Africa’s 130-year mining history has made it an economic powerhouse, but it left an environmental legacy. DRDGOLD’s role is to address this sustainably and profitably, benefiting stakeholders and investors. It’s a privilege to be part of this transformation.

Wildebeest on a Brakpan mine dump: DRDGold’s plan to reverse gold mining legacy – CEO Niël Pretorius

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