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Harmony acquires full ownership of the Hidden Valley mine
in Papua New Guinea
Johannesburg, Monday, 19 September 2016: Harmony Gold Mining
Company Limited (Harmony) today announced that it has signed an
agreement to purchase Newcrest PNG 1 Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary
of Newcrest Mining Limited (Newcrest) which holds Newcrest’s 50% interest
in the Hidden Valley joint venture, for a cash consideration of US$1.
Finalisation of this transaction, which will give Harmony 100% ownership of
the Hidden Valley mine, is conditional upon regulatory approval in South
Africa.
“Our acquisition of the Hidden Valley mine is aligned with our overall
aspiration to increase our annual production profile to 1.5Moz within three
years. We believe that Hidden Valley has the potential to contribute
approximately 180 000oz gold per annum to Harmony’s production profile
at an all-in sustaining cost of less than US$ 950/oz within the next three
years,” Peter Steenkamp, chief executive officer of Harmony said.
As at 30 June 2016, the Hidden Valley mine had an estimated mineral
reserve of 1.4Moz of gold at 1.6g/t and 27Moz of silver at 31g/t, resulting in
total gold equivalent ounces of 1.8Moz at 2 g/t. The estimated mineral
resource includes 4Moz of gold at 1.6g/t and 73Moz of silver at 29g/t. Mining
the stage 5 and 6 cutback will extend the current mine life by 7 years and
require an initial capital investment of approximately US$180 million.
Harmony will also acquire Newcrest’s 50% interest in the exploration
tenements adjacent to the Hidden Valley mine.
On completion of the transaction, Harmony will assume all liabilities and
expenses related to the Hidden Valley joint venture and mine, including all
closure, rehabilitation and remediation obligations, with effect from
31 August 2016. Newcrest has funded Newcrest PNG 1 Ltd to an amount of
US$22.5m, as its once-off contribution towards Hidden Valley’s future
closure liability.
Harmony and Newcrest will remain joint venture partners in the Wafi-Golpu
project.
“Acquiring 100% of the Hidden Valley mine and its surrounding exploration
tenements meet our acquisition criteria. After the initial investment phase
Hidden Valley will generate strong free cash flows, which could be applied
to the development of the Wafi-Golpu project and our exciting exploration
portfolio in Papua New Guinea,” Peter Steenkamp added.
Issued by Harmony Gold Mining
Company Limited
For more details contact:
Frank Abbott
Financial Director
+27 (0) 82 800 4290
Marian van der Walt
Executive: Corporate and Investor
Relations
+27(0) 82 888 1242
Corporate office:
Randfontein Office Park
P O Box 2
Randfontein
South Africa 1760
T +27 (11) 411 2000
Listing codes:
JSE: HAR
NYSE: HMY
ISIN no:
ZAE000015228
Registration no: 1950/038232/06
Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited
(Harmony), a world-class gold mining and
exploration company, has operations and
assets in South Africa and Papua New
Guinea. Harmony, which has more than 60
years’ experience in the industry, is the third
largest gold producer in South Africa. Our
assets include 9 underground mines and 1
open pit operation and several surface
sources in South Africa. We are in the
process of acquiring full ownership in Hidden
Valley - an open pit mine. In addition, we
own 50% of the significant Golpu project in a
joint venture. We also own several
exploration tenements, in Papua New
Guinea.
The company’s primary stock exchange
listing is on the JSE with a secondary listing
on the New York Stock Exchange. The bulk
of our shareholders are in South Africa and
the United States. Additional information on
the company is available on the corporate
website,
www.harmony.co.za
.