Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What do you think of DRDGold? Thanks for your help.

Article Excerpt

DRDGold (ADR), $6.09, symbol DRD on New York (Shares outstanding: 38.5 million; Market cap: $239.4 million; www.drd.co.za), is a South African gold mining company. DRDGold established its Ergo tailings operation in 2007. Over a period of 12 years, this business aims to recover and treat 186 million tonnes of tailings (or residue from mineral processing) contained in the Elsburg tailings complex and the L/29 dump. DRDGold estimates that this waste contains 1.7 million ounces of gold. The company is now considering selling its last two underground mines to focus on tailings treatment, where it continues to report rising production and cash flow. For the same reason, it has also decided to sell four of five exploration properties in Zimbabwe. Operating in South Africa entails above-average political and currency risk. Recently, the country’s mining industry has faced a series of wildcat strikes, as powerful mining unions seek higher wages. DRDGold is okay to hold, but only for highly aggressive investors willing to accept those risks…