The study, conducted in the second half of 2025 by SRK Consulting, was commissioned by specialist mining financier Nebari to assess the technical and execution risks surrounding the project, which is being advanced by West Wits Mining.
Located within the historic Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa, the Qala Shallows operation is notable as the country’s first new gold mine development in roughly 15 years.
According to Joseph Mainama, director, partner, and principal mining engineer at SRK Consulting, the objective was to provide funders with an evidence-based view of whether any material risks could threaten the project’s viability.
“The client wanted comfort that there were no risks that could pose a significant threat to the project going ahead sustainably,” Mainama said.
He added that the review also tested whether the project’s schedules, milestones and operational plans were realistic enough to support the funding and repayment profile.
A different model for South African gold
Qala Shallows stands apart from many of South Africa’s ageing gold operations. Unlike the deep-level, labour-intensive mines that dominate the region, the project is designed as a shallow, mechanised underground operation.
Access will be through a decline from the existing Qala boxcut, with mining focused on multiple reef horizons, including the K9A and K9B reefs.
The selected method, a mechanised form of conventional breast mining using trackless equipment, is expected to reduce infrastructure intensity and operating complexity.
Mainama noted that the relatively shallow depth significantly changes the technical risk profile. Ventilation requirements and pumping duties are lower than those of typical South African gold mines, and cooling of intake air is not required.
However, the geometry introduces surface interaction and subsidence considerations that formed part of the technical review.
The project’s definitive feasibility study forecasts production of about 944,000 ounces over a 17-year life of mine, with steady state output of roughly 70,000 ounces annually during the first 12 years.
Over its lifespan, the mine is expected to contribute more than $1.15 billion to the national economy and create over 1,000 direct jobs.
Toll treatment strategy reduces capital risk
Another defining feature is the decision to use toll treatment at an existing processing facility rather than build a dedicated plant and tailings storage facility.
Kenneth Mahuma, design engineer at SRK Consulting, said this approach materially lowers upfront capital requirements while shifting the project’s risk profile.
“From an engineering and project delivery perspective, toll treatment by a third party changes the risk profile quite significantly,” Mahuma explained.
He noted that while the strategy removes considerable construction and commissioning risk, long-term certainty around logistics, material handling, and processing capacity must be tightly structured.
Broad risk sweep and compliance checks
SRK’s review covered geology, resource and reserve compliance, mine design, geotechnical factors, environmental and ESG risks, hydrology, metallurgy, capital and operating costs, and organisational capability.
The team also ran sensitivity scenarios to test the project’s resilience under less favourable conditions.
“Such scenarios give the client a quantitative feel for how sensitive the project is to key value drivers,” Mainama said.
A critical component was confirming compliance with the JORC Code, essential given West Wits Mining’s Australian listing. Mainama warned that reporting misalignment can be a “potential funding showstopper”.
Importantly, the due diligence was conducted as an interactive process involving data room reviews, site inspections, and technical workshops with both the mining company and financiers.
This, Mainama said, ensured that technical findings were immediately understood in the context of funding risk and execution priorities.
