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Producing gold at US400/oz margin

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Published: Tuesday, 14 September 2010 02:00

A R300 million project could boost to 600Mt the potential resource - contained in gold mine tailings dumps across the western, central and eastern Witwatersrand - available to DRDGOLDs Ergo and Crown surface retreatment operations, DRDGOLD Executive Officer: Operations Charles Symons said today.

R300M pipeline project to take Ergo/Crown surface retreatment potential to 600MT

Johannesburg, South Africa. 14 September 2010. A R300 million project, involving construction of a 50-kilometre pipeline and a plant expansion, could boost to 600Mt the potential resource - contained in gold mine tailings dumps across the western, central and eastern Witwatersrand - available to DRDGOLD’s Ergo and Crown surface retreatment operations, DRDGOLD Executive Officer: Operations Charles Symons said today.

In a presentation during a media site visit to Ergo’s recently refurbished plant at Brakpan on the East Rand, Symons said Ergo - close to achieving its Phase 1 targeted throughput of 1.2Mtpm of gold-bearing tailings - was already producing gold at a cost of R198 000/kg and yielding a margin close to US$400/oz.

“We are confident current research and development into improving recovered grade can deliver even better results from Phase 1,” Symons said.

Pilot plant work, focused on the re-leaching of residue, was yielding up to 0.02 grams per tonne more gold; extrapolated to the main plant, this suggested potential for 25 kilograms per month more gold.

The new 600 000tpm capacity pipeline, scheduled for completion in August next year, will link two of the Crown operation’s plants - Crown and City Deep - in the west with Ergo in the east.

The pipeline will give Crown access to Ergo’s 200Mt capacity tailings deposition site at Brakpan, enabling Crown to restore its maximum deposition capacity to 600 000tpm from the current 400 000tpm, a restriction imposed in 2008 due to diminished capacity at its Nasrec deposition site.

“Restored deposition capacity means Crown can look seriously to bring to account numerous tailings dams along the western and central Witwatersrand, thus extending its economic life,” Symons said.

The pipeline will increase Ergo’s potential to recover additional tailings dams along the central and eastern Witwatersrand, providing feed for a second CIL circuit to be developed in terms of Ergo’s Phase 2 expansion.

Higher volumes at Ergo could be expected to yield further cost reductions and improved efficiencies going forward, Symons said.

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Disclaimer:

Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, adverse changes or uncertainties in general economic conditions in the markets we serve, a drop in the gold price, a continuing strengthening of the rand against the dollar, regulatory developments adverse to DRDGOLD or difficulties in maintaining necessary licences or other governmental approvals, changes in DRDGOLD's competitive position, changes in business strategy, any major disruption in production at key facilities or adverse changes in foreign exchange rates and various other factors.

These risks include, without limitation, those described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" included in our annual report for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2009, which we filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission 27 November 2009 on Form 20-F. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to the occurrence of unanticipated events.