Rudi Deysel
CEO: West Wits Mining
‘We are really the only formal company trying to start a new mine in South Africa’s gold industry’
WEST Wits Mining is adding a new chapter in 2026 to the City of Gold’s colourful history with the launch of production at its Qala Shallows Mine in western Johannesburg. South Africa’s first new gold mine in 15 years will produce only 70,000 ounces a year but should make money in the wake of the precious metal’s raging bull run.
West Wits is listed in Australia but Deysel has signalled that a listing on the JSE – also a relatively rare event these days – is on the horizon. Such a listing would also help to widen the investor base beyond the relatively cautious Australian pool. “The Australian market is not crazy about South Africa. In Sydney, a lot of the investors and analysts are South African expats. We struggled to get appointments,” Deysel was quoted as saying in the Financial Mail.
By the standards of South Africa, which is home to the world’s deepest mines, which descend to 4km beneath the surface, Qala Shallows is a relatively shallow affair, reaching only as far as 850m. Only in South Africa could 850m garner the tag ‘Shallows’. There are long-term plans to raise production to 200,000oz a year, but with a 17-year life of mine, there is no sense of urgency on this front. West Wits also has a promising project in Western Australia.
LIFE OF RUDI
Deysel holds BSc (geophysics) and BEng (mining) degrees and an MBA. He has extensive experience in conventional narrow tabular underground as well as opencast mining across a range of metals including gold, PGMs, copper and cobalt. He was previously part of line management at Anglo American before joining Murray & Roberts Cementation with a focus on underground mine infrastructure, construction and contracting.
