Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, announced today that it is on track to meet its annual guidance for the financial year 2023 (FY23). The company anticipates strong production performance and higher recovered grades across its operations.
Peter Steenkamp, CEO of Harmony Gold Mining, reflected on the Company’s achievements as the financial year draws to a close on 30 June 2023. Steenkamp expressed his satisfaction with Harmony’s performance, stating that the company expects to meet its production and cost guidance while exceeding the guidance on underground recovered grades for FY23.
Harmony has consistently delivered excellent underground-recovered grades, primarily driven by the exceptional performance of its South African operations, with a notable contribution from the Mponeng mine. As a result, underground recovered grades are projected to surpass the guided 5.6g/t for FY23. Additionally, the Hidden Valley mine witnessed improved recovered grades in the fourth quarter. Consequently, Harmony’s overall production is expected to be towards the upper end of the FY23 guidance range, which stands between 1,400,000 and 1,500,000 ounces. Moreover, the company’s all-in-sustaining costs have comfortably remained below R900,000/kg, in line with the guidance provided.
Emphasizing the significance of safety, Steenkamp stated that the well-being of their workforce and host communities remains Harmony’s top priority. The company’s safety transformation journey has yielded positive results, with a consistent trend of reducing lost time injury frequency rates. Harmony is on track to achieve seven consecutive quarters with a lost time injury frequency rate below 6.00 per 1 million hours worked. Nonetheless, the company acknowledges the need for continuous efforts to ensure the safety of every employee.
Harmony has maintained a strong and flexible balance sheet as it enters the second year of its higher capital expenditure program, aligned with its growth ambitions. The program aims to enhance the quality of the company’s gold production by allocating necessary capital to higher-grade underground mines, as well as higher-margin surface and international operations.
Furthermore, Harmony is purposefully allocating capital to projects that align with its sustainable development commitments. The completion of Phase 1 of its comprehensive renewable energy program showcases the company’s progress in this area.
Throughout the year, Harmony has expanded its surface retreatment operations and made significant advancements in its copper investments. The successful acquisition of the Eva Copper project in Australia represents Harmony’s commitment to investing in future-facing metals. Additionally, the company is advancing the Tier 1 Wafi-Golpu copper-gold project, which is among the largest copper-gold block cave projects globally and accounts for approximately 40% of Harmony’s Mineral Reserves. In April 2023, Harmony achieved a significant milestone by signing a framework memorandum of understanding with the Government of Papua New Guinea, a significant step towards securing the Mining Development Contract and Special Mining Lease for Wafi-Golpu. The combination of the Eva and Wafi-Golpu projects positions Harmony with a robust global copper growth platform, set to contribute significant copper production to the critical minerals supply chain for decades to come.
Over the past five years, Harmony has experienced remarkable growth and transformation through value-accretive acquisitions and targeted capital expenditure programs. Steenkamp expressed his pride in the company’s achievements during this financial year and emphasized the solid foundation and strong momentum Harmony has built heading into the new financial year.
