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Chief executive officer’s review
“My message to employees is a simple one – produce safe, profitable
gold ounces in line with our company values. Keep your eyes off the
gold price and on your plans. We continue to focus on what we can
control – production and costs. We knew that the March 2013 quarter
may be difficult and our results reaffirmed that we need to do more to
meet expectations”, said Graham Briggs, chief executive officer
of Harmony.
1. SAFETY
It is with regret that I report that two people were fatally injured during
the quarter. They are John Naile, a contractor at the Saaiplaas demolition
site and Rameno Steven Tapolosi, a driller at Masimong. We extend our
deepest sympathy to their families and colleagues.
All quarter on quarter and year on year safety parameters showed
improvement, with some significant safety achievements, which
includes the lowest quarterly lost time injury frequency rate of 5.15 in
Harmony’s history. See page 4 for more details.
2. OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
Gold production for the March 2013 quarter was 15% lower compared
to the December 2012 quarter at 7 699kg, mainly as a result of the
temporary closure of Kusasalethu due to safety and security reasons,
the damage to the ventilation shaft at Phakisa and a slow start-up at
the other operations post the festive season.
Cash operating cost in the March 2013 quarter decreased by R30 million
when compared to the previous quarter. This was mainly as a result of
a decrease in consumables, due to lower volumes, as well as a saving in
electricity at Kusasalethu.
The rand per kilogram unit cost for the March 2013 quarter increased
by 17% to R362 491/kg. The costs are however skewed, as Kusasalethu
was not in production during the March 2013 quarter. If we were to
exclude Kusasalethu from both the second and the third quarters, the
cash cost would have been R322 767/kg (U$1 125/oz) in quarter 3 versus
R285 498/kg (US$1 024/oz) in quarter 2 of financial year 2013. Capital
expenditure for the March 2013 quarter was R677 million, R189 million
less than the December 2012 quarter.
3. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
3.1 Kusasalethu
The temporary closure of Kusasalethu, due to safety and security
reasons, was resolved after a watershed agreement was signed with all
the unions on 14 February 2013, which facilitated the re-opening of the
mine. The process of returning Kusasalethu to production is underway
and remains peaceful.
A pre-condition for reopening the mine was the acceptance by all
employees of various conditions, all broadly relating to employees
committing to full compliance with policies and procedures and safe
and orderly conduct. These conditions were agreed to by the unions. In
terms of the agreement, it was also agreed that each employee would
sign a code of conduct to show their individual commitment to ensuring
that Kusasalethu is mined in a safe and secure way with full respect for
the rule of law.
Closing the mine was a difficult and costly decision, but we believe that
it has re-established our employer-employee relationship and gave us
an opportunity to ensure that the mine is operated in a safe and
profitable manner, supported by healthy employee relations.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has
gained the majority union status at Kusasalethu, representing close to
60% of the workforce at the mine and as a result, approximately 10%
of Harmony’s total workforce.
3.2 Wage negotiations
It is envisaged that the wage negotiations in the gold sector will start
early in June 2013. This is amidst uncertainties due to new role players
(companies as well as unions) and union rivalry.
Harmony has implemented measures to ensure stable industrial
relations, such as engaging unions on the Harmony reality, obtaining
agreement on a code of conduct similar to that of Kusasalethu and to
continue building strong relationships with both our employees and the
unions.
4. BENEFICIATION
All of Harmony’s South African gold is currently refined and sold by
Rand Refinery (Pty) Limited (Rand Refinery). Rand Refinery plays a key
role in gold beneficiation. With access to gold within a secure
environment, they have established an initiative called the Gold Zone.
The aim is for the Gold Zone to become a major hub for precious metal
fabrication in South Africa for global export, while at the same time
assisting local communities with skills development. Entrepreneurs,
start-up businesses, jewellery manufacturers and tourism will all benefit
from this initiative in the future.
Up to November 2012, Harmony held only 1.8% of the total shares in
Rand Refinery, even though all our South African gold production is
refined there. Rand Refinery has been and will continue to have good
returns and is thus a good investment. We therefore decided to increase
our holding in Rand Refinery to 9%, not only from an investment point
of view, but also from a beneficiation perspective.
5. WAFI-GOLPU
The drill fleet at Wafi-Golpu in Papua New Guinea (PNG) achieved
14 664m for the quarter – the best quarterly drill production ever
recorded by the project. The gold recovery test work program
determined a material improvement in both gold and copper recoveries.
The drilling has increased and improved the orebody knowledge,
showing an increase in the content of both gold and copper.
In the current gold market climate, the project team was given a revised
project development brief, which is aimed at optimising capital cost and
improving the risk profile to align with owner and investor expectations,
prior to starting with the feasibility study phase. The revised approach
presents an opportunity to reconsider a new strategic approach for the
project, possibly a staged approach. The project team is in the process
of defining the scope, cost and schedule to complete an
optimisation study.
6. PROPOSED CHANGE IN MOROBE MINING JOINT VENTURE
(MMJV) MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE (Harmony holds 50%)
The MMJV has been in operation since August 2008, based on a
management model agreed to as part of the joint venture agreement
with Newcrest Limited (Newcrest). At that stage, in-country activity was
mainly focused on the Hidden Valley mine development, with a limited
exploration program that incorporated Wafi-Golpu. The management
structure consisted of various general managers in the business
reporting through various operating committees to the joint venture
committee, which had representatives of Harmony and Newcrest
as members.