Harmony Gold on track to achieve full-year production target

• SA’s largest gold producer by volume says it is set to reach its output goals despite load-shedding constraints

Harmony Gold Mining Company, the largest gold producer in SA by volume, said on Wednesday that it was on track to achieve its full-year production target, despite the power shortages afflicting many businesses in the country.

Like other gold miners, Harmony Gold relies heavily on Eskom for energy but is working on a pipeline of renewable and alternative energy projects as a way of reducing operating costs and relieving pressure from the national grid.

Most of Harmony’s operations are in SA, with two of its mines in Papua New Guinea and one in Australia, though it is looking to diversify into commodities such as copper as the local gold industry matures.

In the production update on Wednesday, the gold miner said it was on course to achieve between 1.4-million and 1.5million ounces of gold in the year to end-June at an all-in sustaining cost of less than R900,000/kg.

Gold output for the six months to end-December was between 720,000oz and 745,000oz.

In the same statement, Harmony said feasibility studies were under way after the conclusion of the Eva Copper transaction in December for about R4bn.

Copper is expected to benefit from the so-called green transition. But the deal could also cushion Harmony Gold as gold mines in its home reach maturity and become more expensive to operate.

Meanwhile, the group has announced a change to its senior operating structure.

The COO of SA, Beyers Nel, has been appointed as group COO. The SA and Southeast Asia regions will fall under him. A regional executive operating officer for each region will be recruited to report to Nel, with the hiring process already under way.

CEO for South East Asia, Johannes van Heerden, has been appointed to the new role of group COO, business development and growth.

Van Heerden’s focus areas will include leading the Eva copper project and pursuing opportunities in Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Harmony’s share price closed up 2.76% at R63.29 on the JSE on Wednesday.

HARMONY GOLD IS LOOKING TO DIVERSIFY INTO COMMODITIES SUCH AS COPPER AS THE LOCAL GOLD INDUSTRY MATURES