HARMONY Gold has given the green light to its Eva copper project in Australia saying on Monday the project would cost $1.55bn over a three year construction period to build, beginning in the third quarter of 2026.
Once completed, in the second half of 2028, the project would take Harmony’s copper production to about 100,000 tons a year. That production target that includes output from Harmony’s recently concluded $1bn acquisition of MAC Copper, a New York-listed firm which owns the 41,000-ton-a-year CSA copper mine in Australia’s New South Wales.
“Eva Copper, together with our recent MAC Copper acquisition, creates a compelling platform that brings together the enduring value of gold with the future-facing strength of copper, enhancing cash flow resilience across commodity cycles,” said Beyers Nel, CEO of Harmony Gold in a statement to the JSE.
Shares in the gold miner were just under a percent lower in Johannesburg by mid-morning but have gained 81% so far this year.
Acquired in 2022 from Copper Mountain Mining Corp for about $220m, Eva Copper was subject to project optimisation ahead of today’s board support.
Initially scoped at 50,000 to 60,000 ton a year, Harmony said on Monday the project would produce 65,000 tons a year of copper for the first five years of production. The expected life of mine average output would be 60,000 tons annually, and 19,000 ounces of gold a year at an all-in sustaining cost of $2,50 per pound of copper.
The total life of mine would be for 15 years.
“We have confidence in the long-term outlook for copper and gold, and Eva Copper is poised to deliver strong free cash flows and attractive margins, while reducing our overall risk profile,” said Nel.
The construction of Eva would be funded through internal cash flow and debt, says Harmony, adding that dividends would not be sacrificed.
The extent to which the gold miner will manage shareholder returns is yet to be announced, however. Harmony said on November 12 it was reviewing its capital structure in a way that would match “its funding profile to its cash flow generation”.
For the first quarter, Harmony Gold registered a 53% increase in net cash to R17.1bn ($989m) from R11.1bn ($628m) as at 30 June 2025. Cash and available undrawn facilities rose 27% to R26.6bn over the same period.
Set against these projects, and the extension of its Mponeng mine in South Africa, Harmony runs a relatively conservative dividend policy of paying 20% of net free cash. The company has been criticised for this in the past.
Based on the previous owner’s feasibility study, pre-production capital of Eva Copper was forecast to be $597m.
