Welcome to Above Average Mines

Above Average envisage to rehabilitate most of the discarded residue within the derelict and owner-less mines in South Africa and the continent.

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Background

AAG commenced their business aspirations in 2001 founded by the Executive Chairman, ventured in numerous economic sectors including construction, Tourism, Logistics, open cast mining and rehabilitation over the past 22 years.

We have identified a gap within the biggest industry in the economy which is mining in South Africa whereby the are lot of loopholes as far as environmental is concern, therefore we began by learning the dynamics thorough Pan African Resources by mining and rehabilitating for them subsequently in 2016 we purchased our 60 hectors Gold Mine were we intend processing the six million tons according to our 

CPR, the mine used to be called Thisle Mine since 1889 until 1954 by Anglo Vaal, now Lwati Mineral reclamation.

Vision & Mission

Above Average envisage to rehabilitate most of the discarded residue within the derelict and owner-less mines in South Africa and the continent. Objective: it is to partner with relevant industry players in rehabilitating the environment using High-Tec Technology and environmentally friendly chemicals in a safe manner.

Services

MINNING

We provide a full spectrum of mining services, ensuring safe and efficient extraction of mineral resources. Our team of experienced professionals uses state-of-the-art equipment and innovative techniques to deliver high-quality results.

REHABILITATION

We specialize in the rehabilitation of mines, land, and infrastructure, focusing on sustainable practices and environmental stewardship. Our goal is to restore sites to their natural state or prepare them for future development.

LOGITICS

Our logistics services ensure the smooth and timely transportation of materials, equipment, and personnel to and from construction sites. We understand the importance of efficiency and reliability in the construction industry.

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Our commercial development services are designed to bring your vision to life, from conceptual design to project completion. We focus on creating functional, aesthetically pleasing, and sustainable commercial spaces.

We therefore approached MINTEK South Africa as the Biggest and Global leader in research and Technology to foster a constructive and sustainable working relationship in both research and technology in 2018 to date subsequently we decided to formalize our relationship for the next 5 years through a Memorandum of Agreement renewable in 2028.

It has taken us a lot of thrive, dedication and focus in bringing the project to its current state with limited resources that including financial support, to date we have spent more than R 20 million including purchasing of the land, conducting the Environmental Management plan for all the sites, laboratory analysis, water use rights, section 28 of Nema, Refinery License, Competent persons Report, and site development including building offices and acquiring Artisanal mining equipment with the processing plant.

We have done a trial run with Barberton tailings retreat plant for 5000 tons and yielded 2.97kg of gold in seven production days in order to ascertain commercial compatibility and indeed it was a success. In that regard as a small emerging company we are in dire need for financial support from our government as this project aims to employ around 300 unskilled, semi skilled and skilled personnel. A number of institutions including; Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, SEFA. NEF, IDC and other private investors to no success due to certain red tapes.

Cyanide and it's effects on life

As Occupational Health Workers, ours is to mitigate for various mine acquired diseases and injuries. This forms the core of the Mine Health and Safety Act. Governments the world over have a dilemma of increasing productivity of their mining business and protecting their citizenry who are exposed to the mining activities. 

The Egoli plant seeks to mitigate for the adverse effects of the chemicals that have been used for millennia in the extraction of gold and other precious metals from the ore. The two mining chemicals notable for causing immediate and long-term damage to the workers and anyone in close proximity to the mining activities are Cyanide and Mercury. A brief synopsis of their chemical nature and mode of harm to the human body are narrated below.

Cyanide and it's effects on life

This is a very toxic salt of Hydrocyanic Acid. It's ominous properties are mainly evident in high doses. It kills by disabling the body cells from utilizing available OXYGEN. This leads to cell death, and by inference, that of the whole organism.

In small quantities over a long time, having permeated the food chain this chemical results in a myriad of conditions. These are preventable through the rehabilitation of the tailings that we find around us as a result of previous mining activities by expatriates in the latter part of the 19th  and early to mid 20th century.

 

Long term effects are mainly heart and brain dysfunction. It could also affect unborn fetuses if the chemical is ingested in high enough doses through food grown over tailings. Above Average Mine is on a mission to rid our communities of this dangerous chemical through the rehabilitation of these almost forgotten tailings. Fortunately, rehabilitating the tailings have positive spin offs as there are a lot of precious metals still left within these heaps of soil. This makes good business sense for the company.

Mercury and it's effects on life

This is a very unique metal in the periodic table of the elements in that it is a liquid at room temperature. In mining it is used to extract gold from the ore. It binds to the gold to form a gold-mercury amalgam at room temperature. The amalgam is then heated to mercury's boiling point of 356,7°C. All the mercury evaporates leaving the gold to be harvested.

This process produces very dangerous mercury fumes which are detrimental to human life. Because of this, many countries are moving away from using this method to get the final product.

Mercury exposure via the respiratory and dermal systems lead to neurological and behavioral untoward conditions. Tremors, insomnia, amnestic disorder, neuromuscular decline, headaches cognitive and motor dysfunction. Above Average Mine would like to send a word of gratitude to Mintek for choosing us as a pilot project for the IGoli Plant which uses environmentally friendly methods of Gold Extraction. Mintek's Sazini Manzini will elaborate further on this new plant and it's workings.