3
Chief Executive’s Review
Introduction
The past quarter has been an exciting one with our share price reaching
record highs for FY11 primarily on the back of more exploration
successes on the Golpu deposit and an analyst visit to our Papua New
Guinea (PNG) operations.
We remain committed to our long term strategy of generating earnings
to fund growth. We have invested significant capital to build and
commission some of the best South African gold mining assets and
the results of these efforts will be fully realised in the future.
Our transformational efforts and strategic initiatives undertaken over
the last few years are all aimed at achieving robust and sustainable
financial results, with better cash costs and improved grade.
Our strategy also includes a focus on both regional and asset
diversification. In PNG, we have built a mine producing both gold
and silver and are currently busy with further exploration in the area
which includes 8 000km
2
of exploration tenements outside of the joint
venture. The early findings from Wafi/Golpu has justified management’s
long held belief that this is a world-class asset and will be a mine.
Taking a holistic view, Harmony has several world-class mines in South
Africa which are currently in the build-up phase and these, together
with Hidden Valley, will be significant contributors to Harmony’s set
production targets.
Safety
It is with deep regret that I report that two of our colleagues died
in work-related incidents during the quarter. Those who died were:
Tello Motloung, a scraper winch operator at Bambanani and Tjakama
Ntsohi, a winch operator at Unisel. I would like to extend my deepest
condolences to their families, friends and colleagues.
Fall of ground is still the major contributor to fatalities in the Company
and a high level task team has been established to formulate and
implement a comprehensive fall of ground strategy.
Overall, improved discipline and management of seismicity and falls of
ground, value based safety behaviour and visible leadership from the
operational management resulted in improved safety at most of our
operations. See more on safety on page 5.
Gold market
We do not hedge gold and our shareholders have complete exposure
to spot gold prices and current exchange rates. We maintain our bullish
stance on the gold price and believe it will increase further, especially
in light of the weaker dollar and global economic uncertainty. Gold
has proven itself to be a currency and a store of wealth in times of
uncertainty. Although we have seen record high gold prices in the past
quarter in dollar terms, the stronger Rand resulted in the R/kg gold
price increasing by only 3% from R303 354/kg in the previous quarter
to R312 029/kg in the current quarter.
Operational results for quarter 3 of FY11
Gold production decreased by 2% quarter on quarter, from 10 055kg
to 9 857kg. Underground production was only 1% lower at 8 164kg,
despite volumes decreasing by 3% mainly as a result of the December
break. However, tonnage was made up with surface tonnes being 2%
higher quarter on quarter.
Underground operations
Tonnes milled for the quarter decreased by 3% or 58 000 tonnes
when compared to the December 2010 quarter. Recovered grade
increased from 4.60g/t to 4.64g/t quarter on quarter. Gold production
achieved in the March 2011 quarter was 8 164 kilograms, compared to
8 273 kilograms produced in the December 2010 quarter.
A 3% decrease in cash operating cost in Rand terms negated the
decrease in gold produced and resulted in a 1% decrease in unit
cost achieved for the March 2011 quarter at R216 799/kg compared
to R218 881/kg in the previous quarter. Capital expenditure for the
March 2011 quarter decreased by 18% (R124 million) to R572 million,
compared to R696 million in the December 2010 quarter.
Surface operations
Tonnes milled increased by 2%, mainly due to a 111 000 tonnes (14%)
increase in material from the dumps. This was due to the plants
continuing to mill waste over the December break. The recovered
grade decreased by 8% from 0.38g/t to 0.35g/t in the quarter under
review, mainly attributed to a 9% decrease at Kalgold. Gold produced
decreased by 56kg from 955kg in the December 2010 quarter to 899kg
in the March 2011 quarter, a 6% decrease. Cash operating unit cost
increased by 6% from R215 422/kg to R227 335/kg in the quarter
under review.
Operating profit decreased by 11% to R69 million in the March 2011
quarter compared to R78 million in the previous quarter.
Hidden Valley
Gold and silver production decreased by 4% and 21%, respectively,
compared to the previous quarter with 794kg (25 528oz) gold and
4 704kg (151 249oz) silver produced. Plant throughput was 4% lower
at 815 000 (850 000 in the previous quarter) tonnes, which is primarily
attributable to the belt breakage of the Hidden Valley conveying circuit.
This is expected to negatively impact quarter four as well. See page 8
for more on the Hidden Valley mine.
Financial overview
Quarter on quarter the Rand per kilogram unit cost were kept at
bay with a mere increase of 1% to R217 802/kg, in comparison to
R216 595/kg in the previous quarter. This was mainly as a result of the
2% decrease in gold production as cash operating cost in Rand terms
decreased by 2% (R48 million).
In R/kg terms the gold price received increased by 3% from
R303 354/kg in the December 2010 quarter to R312 029/kg in the
current quarter. Revenue for the March 2011 quarter decreased by 1%
as a result of a 330kg (3%) decrease in the gold sold.
Quarter on quarter the capital expenditure decreased by
R168 million (20%).
Cash operating cost for the March 2011 quarter decreased by
R48 million or 2% when compared to the previous quarter due to cost
savings, decreased electricity and labour costs.
Operating profit decreased by 1% to R855 million when compared to
the R868 million recorded in the December 2010 quarter.