Latest news with #NielPretorius
IOL News
12 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Old but gold: DRDGold still digs profit from a century of dirt
A few years after the JSE was formed to list companies that were rushing to pull gold out of the mine after it was discovered in 1886, DRDGOLD listed on the bourse. Image: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay A few years after the JSE was formed to list companies that were rushing to pull gold out of the mine after it was discovered in 1886, DRDGold listed on the bourse. It's now the oldest company still listed, having offered its shares to the public in 1895. Its operations have shifted over time, and it is now pulling gold dust out of mine dumps, which were the result of more than a century of mining and dumping the left-over dirt on the edges of mines. Initially, DRDGold, formerly Durban Roodepoort Deep, operated underground mines before transitioning completely from deep level underground mining to the large-scale retreatment of mine dumps and tailings dams. Although there is no information as to how much its stock was worth when it listed, IOL's calculations show that a R10,000 investment into the company five years ago would have reaped an additional R3 708 if dividends were reinvested. Although that's a return of 37.08% over the past decade, it's far less than the bourse's ALSI gain of 75.5% over the same period and worth only two-thirds of the average basket of household items based on May figures from the Household Affordability Index, published by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group. And, reinvesting dividends doesn't make much of a difference, because the total gain is only R3 582, a return of 35.83%. The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group's report indicated that the national minimum wage in May, based on 21 working days, is R4 836. The average cost of a household food basket, in the same month, is R5 466. In DRDGold's May press release on its operating performance for the quarter to end-March, it noted that it was celebrating its 130th anniversary of being listed. CEO Niel Pretorius, said in the statement: 'The idea of rolling back mining's environmental legacy aligns with the values of our people. Our people are not only working for the next month or year, but they are also working for the next generation and towards a better future. This is what sustainability is all about.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Macrotrends' information indicates that the all-time high DRDGold stock closing price was 48.32 on March 11, 1997. The discovery of gold on a Transvaal farm, Langlaagte, on the Witwatersrand in 1886 by two prospectors was a turning point in South African history. It changed South Africa from an agricultural society to become the largest gold producer in the world – although it has since lost this crown and isn't even in the top ten producers globally. China is now in first place in terms of gold producers. IOL
The Citizen
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
DRDGOLD celebrates 130 years on JSE amidst favourable revenue
DRDGOLD, which owns operations in the Carletonville and Fochville area, today reported very good operating performance for the quarter ended March 31. Revenue for the quarter increased by 4% due to a 10% increase in the average gold price to R1 685 760/kg. The company owns Far West Rand Recoveries between Carletonville and Fochville and is also erecting a huge new tailings facility in the Fochville area. Gold sold and produced decreased by 13% and 12% respectively, due to a 5% decrease in tonnage throughput and a 7% decrease in yield to 0.181g/t. The company's tonnages decreased mainly due to unprecedented wet weather conditions, which inhibited access to certain sites and consequently impacted the desired blend of reclamation material. This also affected the average yield achieved, which reduced by 7% to 0.181g/t. Cash operating costs remained under control, decreasing to R1 044.2 million. Cash and cash equivalents increased by R289.3 million to R950.5 million March 31, after paying an interim cash dividend of R258.7 million for the six months ended 31 December 2024. The cash generated during the current quarter will, inter alia, be applied towards the Company's extended capital expenditure programme. This coupled with the recent surge in the gold price and barring any unforeseen events, places the company in a favourable position to consider declaring a final dividend in August 2025. DRDGOLD also reached the milestone of celebrating its 130th anniversary of uninterrupted listing on the JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) on April 25. 'The idea of rolling back mining's environmental legacy aligns with the values of our people. Our people are not only working for the next month or year, but they are also working for the next generation and towards a better future. This is what sustainability is all about,' said its CEO, Niel Pretorius. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
