Pan African Resources PLC posted a 100% increase in mineral resource at the Royal Sheba project, part of its Barberton gold operation in South Africa, to 720,000 contained ounces. The upgrade follows a review of the geological model and data from the deposit.

The project hosts 5.9 million tonnes at 3.8 g/t of gold, compared to the previous estimate of 2.60 million tonnes at 4.32 g/t of gold for 360,000 contained ounces.

According to a March 28 release, the Barberton operation is on track to produce about 50,000 ounces of gold in the second half of the 2018 financial year, an increase of about 23% compared to output in the first half.

The company plans to start developing the high-grade 256 platform at the Fairview mine in 2019 to sustain gold production. Full production from the platform is expected in 2020 and will sustain production over the next five years.

Construction of the Elikhulu tailings retreatment plant is ahead of schedule, and first gold is expected in August, the company said.