[miningmx.com] – RESTRUCTURING at Kusasalethu, the closure of Target 3 shaft and a technical problem at Papua New Guinea mine, Hidden Valley, would result in a 10% decline in Harmony Gold’s December quarter gold production.
Graham Briggs, CEO of Harmony Gold, added that the restructuring of Kusasalethu, a mine west of Johannesburg, would return the operation to profitability by the close of the fourth quarter of its 2015 financial year, or June quarter of the calendar year.
The technical problem at Hidden Valley was a belt tear on the mine’s overland conveyer as well as a fatality, the upshot of which was an interruption to production. “Ore was hauled to the mill by truck during this period, adversely impacting costs,” Briggs said.
“As a result of the above, gold production for the December 2014 quarter decreased by approximately 10% quarter on quarter, entirely due to production stoppages at Kusasalethu and Hidden Valley,” said Harmony which added it would present its quarter results on February 9.
