[miningmx.com] – HARMONY’S troubled Doornkop mine will be kept in operation following agreement with mining industry unions on a plan to return the mine to profitability with minimal retrenchments from the 3,100 strong workforce.
The group announced on May 8 it wanted to restructure operations at Doornkop through a section 189 consultation process with organised labour.
This resulted from operating losses made at Doornkop of R210m during the financial year to June 2014 followed by additional losses of R98m in the nine months to end-March.
Without the agreement now reached Doornkop would have been placed on care and maintenance.
According to Harmony CEO Graham Briggs: “The outcome of the Doornkop discussions is testimony to what can be achieved when all parties engage with the same aim in mind – finding a sustainable solution to ensure the viability of the mine and at the same time securing the majority of jobs.
“We would like to acknowledge the role of union leadership and wish to thank them for assisting us in securing Doornkop’s future,’ he added.
Harmony investor relations manager Henrika Ninham said the majority union at Doornkop was the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), but added that “… all the unions, including AMCU (the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) had taken part in the negotiations”.
The new plan covers more than 3,100 employees (including contractors) of which 526 employees (including contractors) are affected.
According to a company statement “… the majority of these employees have been transferred to other operations. Of the 526, about 183 people will either be re-skilled for redeployment elsewhere in Harmony or may elect to accept a voluntary severance package”.
Ninham said she was unable to provide details of the new operational plan intended to restore profitability at Doornkop at this stage. “We are in a closed period ahead of the release of the quarterly results on August 18. The details on Doornkop will be provided at that time,” she said.
According to guidance provided by Harmony along with the update on Doornkop the group is forecasting that quarterly production for the June quarter is likely to be up 4% to 5% quarter-on-quarter while gold production for the financial year to end-June is estimated at 1.08 million ounces.
