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Harmony Gold Mining Company is progressing studies to recover the gold from its Free State tailings dams as well as those that span the West Wits area around its Mponeng gold mine.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's Free State tailings alone host 5.7-million ounces of surface gold.

"We've not progressed those studies to the full extent yet. We're in the process of doing that, which will firmly fit into the quadrant of our surface production, which is high-margin safe production for the future," Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel pointed out to Mining Weekly following this week's declaration by Harmony of a record R3.4-billion half-year dividend. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).

"We are most pleased to return more of the gold-price tailwind upside over the last while to our shareholders while also replacing ounces mined."

In addition to Harmony's investments in the CSA copper mine, which Nel describes as being "phenomenal", and Eva copper project, in Australia, he spoke of South Africa Inc looking up, "and we're also quite positive about investing back into South Africa in order to sustain jobs and to make sure that South Africa's gold mining industry continues to be as strong as it always has been."

Mining Weekly: During the presentation, you twice used the word phenomenal. The first was about CSA. You said, 'this is a phenomenal orebody'. Can you tell us why you used the word phenomenal?

Nel: CSA is the highest-grade copper orebody in Australia. It's got a 3% reserve grade and we've got new drill intercepts there, which already indicate potential mine life extension. We're very excited about that orebody, which I think is going to be very valuable going forward. But it's an orebody that, technically, we need to de-constrain, both on the ventilation side and through the creation of the necessary underground flexibility, so that we can have consistent, predictable production coming from the CSA mine.

You also used "phenomenal" when speaking about Wafi-Golpu in Papua New Guinea. We've been hearing those two words Wafi and Golpu for decades now, but I got the feeling during your presentation that we're getting a bit closer to seeing operational activity there.

Wafi-Golpu's a once-in-a-generation asset and that's why we use the word phenomenal. It's a porphyry, so it will be a big, bulk underground copper/gold mine. Not a narrow tabular or a batching process or an openpit mine, but a big underground block cave mine. Quality gold and quality copper are going to come from Wafi-Golpu. I wouldn't risk saying we're getting closer, but we're certainly progressing the discussions with the Papua New Guinean government, through the Spear Review Team, as well as the State Negotiating Team and our JV partners, to take the mine up the value curve.

The very next step is getting the mining permit, remembering that a mining permit in Papua New Guinea has got a 40-year tenure. So, yes, it's been taking long. It's been taking maybe longer than anticipated, but with such a long tenure it's important to get it right, and the quality of the asset is so good that it's worth the wait and worth getting the permit conditions 100% right for maximum value for all stakeholders.

Regarding South Africa's cyanide, tell us about the solution you've come up with in briquette form.

Yes, sodium cyanide is the main reagent we use to extract the gold out of the gold-bearing ore. It's a chemical that we use, and we get it in liquid form. We're not manufacturing or developing the cyanide briquettes ourselves. There are other players in the industry that followed the same strategies. This is just flexibility and supply chain alternative, which is a fixed form called a cyanide briquette that one can import from overseas...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

South Africa's largest gold-mining company Harmony Gold is building a resilient portfolio by investing continuously in its orebodies while growing in copper to protect cash flows through the commodity cycle, Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel highlighted during the JSE-listed group's declaration of record interim dividend payout of R3.4-billion.

The dividend involves a total payout of 43% of net free cash and an increase of 23% over the previous dividend policy, which is now revised to allow for up to 50% of net free cash to be returned to shareholders, Harmony FD Boipelo Lekubo outlined at the presentation, which reported 9% lower half-year gold production of 724 000 oz and 21%-higher all-in sustaining costs of $2 115/oz. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

"The cash we're generating today is enabling us to fund a future in both gold and copper," an upbeat Nel reported during the well-attended presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

The operating profit of Harmony, which is a geographically diversified producer with assets in South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Australia, was up 61% at R16-billion on 11% lower but in-line underground recovered grade of 5.72 g/t. Basic earnings per share were up 24% at 1 563c.

Harmony's portfolio is underpinned by 136-million ounces in mineral resources and about 37-million ounces of mineral reserves providing scale, longevity and optionality.

"Gold remains our core, while copper is our strategic growth lever," Nel explained.

Harmony plans to bring 100 000 t of copper online a year from Australia within the next few to five years.

"Guided by long life asset optimisation and disciplined capital allocation, we prioritise value over volume to build a more profitable and sustainable Harmony over the long term.

"We're not targeting a fixed copper-to-gold ratio. Our decisions are driven by fundamentals, economic value and reserve strength.

By financial year 2035, 40% of production may be copper from Eva and CSA, both in Australia, and from Wafi-Golpu in Papua New Guinea, "complementing our South African gold base and enhancing resilience and also margins. Operational fundamentals remain firmly intact, despite some short-term headwinds," Nel noted.

The lower 724 000 oz of gold reported for the reporting period was impacted by an industry-wide cyanide shortage and lower plant recoveries in South Africa.

Although underground recovered grades decreased by 11% to 5.7 g/t, face grades mined were in line with our plans, and plant recoveries have reportedly now also normalised.

Hidden Valley's production in Papua New Guinea was affected by a tectonic-related mill motor failure and gold shipping delays, which impacted the amount of gold sold during the period.

Group all-in sustaining cost rose to R1.18-million per kilogram, or $2 115/oz, owing to lower volumes and much higher royalties paid.

"I'm confident that we'll remain on track to meet full-year production cost and grade guidance. We're generating strong free cash flows. On the back of consistent strong operational and financial results, we've revised our dividend policy to reflect the higher base dividend and additional performance related payout. This means shareholders could receive up to 50% of net free cash as a dividend.

"Our interim dividend has more than doubled, rewarding our shareholders alongside our growth aspirations.

"Copper and gold are both intrinsically important to us, and Harmony is well positioned for growth," said Nel.

Harmony's lost time injury frequency rate reached an all-time low of 4.23 and has remained below five for three consecutive quarters now.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague in the second quarter, because any loss of life is unacceptable and reinforces the need for cont...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

South Africa's mining sector must be a national economic priority so as to unleash its inherent and powerful multiplier effects, make inroads into high levels of unemployment and contribute to industrialisation to maximise South Africa's latent mineral potential, driving transformation and social prosperity.

This can be achieved through targeted incentives and reducing the cost of doing business, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane outlined in an in-depth article on March 10.

Prospects for growth of the sector's medium- to long-term profile of production are not immediately promising, which is disappointing and frustrating given the huge contribution it continues delivering to the fiscus and society despite the multiple constraints under which it has, and continues to, operate.

Only in recent years have these constraints received the attention they demand, but not with the urgency required to expedite investment in mineral exploration, new mine construction and longer-term sustainability of existing operations.

Given the government's continued social expenditure to avert social distress and deliver services and infrastructure - and mining's ability to deliver, ensure its future growth and leverage its employment multipliers - the sector has an important role to play in South Africa's future social security.

The turnaround in prices for gold and platinum group metals (PGMs) underpinned the 2025 fiscus, contributing to the R21.3-billion increase in gross tax revenue. Mining tax collections increased 29%, mainly from higher gold and PGM prices and increased chrome and manganese exports.

However, the ambition is for growth in production output, which accounts for real expansion of the sector and results in higher and broader benefits, at elevated prices, for the country through increased employment, arresting deindustrialisation and expanding manufacturing inputs for new mines, related infrastructure and broad-based tax revenue earnings for the fiscus.

The mining sector stands at a pivotal moment. Long recognised as a bedrock of the economy, it faces intense pressures and unprecedented opportunities in the local and international transition to a low-carbon future, rich with rapid technology advances requiring the minerals we have in abundance.

South Africa remains uniquely advantaged despite the noisy environment: endowed with magnificent qualities and diverse mineral resources, supported by a maturing public-private problem-solving partnership, a functioning constitutional democracy, advanced financial and capital markets and a youthful population, it is positioned to supply the minerals to power global energy and technology transitions from revitalised exploration and mine development.

The mining sector stands at a pivotal moment. Long recognised as a bedrock of the economy, it faces intense pressures and unprecedented opportunities in the local and international transition to a low-carbon future, rich with rapid technology advances requiring the minerals we have in abundance, Mthenzane noted.

Decisions made now by the government, industry leaders, investors and social partners will determine whether South Africa leverages this once-in-a-generation moment to rebuild economic momentum, or risks missing this opportunity to transform the lives and restore the dignity of our citizens.

The mining sector continues to demonstrate its resilience and centrality to South Africa's economic engine. Estimates based on data for the first three quarters of 2025 suggest that mining contributed R439-bn to nominal GDP, representing 5.8% of economic activity, and paid more than R100-billion in taxes, royalties and VAT. Mineral exports accounted for roughly 52% of merchandise export earnings, undersco...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

The definitive feasibility study for the Bokoni platinum group metals (PGM) project is targeted for completion in this half of 2026, followed by an investment decision, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) CEO Phillip Tobias reported during ARM's latest half-year presentation.

"We're still very excited about the quality of the orebody, the grade that it has, and all that it can bring," Tobias enthused.

Following the suspension of ore mining and milling at the end of ARM's 2025 financial year, the operation has prioritised ore reserve development to allow high-grade stoping production.

The independent value engineering review that is under way will be followed by a presentation to the board for an investment decision to be taken.

For the required narrow-reef-cutting technology, ARM is partnering German tunnel-boring machine company Herrenknecht, and South African reef-boring solutions company Master Drilling of Fochville.

The decline shaft heads directly into upper group two (UG2), the preferred higher-grade reef.

Mining Weekly's request during question time for an update on the Bokoni project elicited this response: "We're making good progress. However, there are some teething challenges because the ground where we are is still quite soft, so we're basically going slowly.

"But in terms of the profile of the excavation that's developing, it really shows that if we sort out those teething issues, it will yield some positive returns. We're just waiting to see consistent grade performance, so that we can report the positive results.

"We've incorporated lessons that we picked up from Mogalakwena and also from Eland and, as a result, we're really looking forward to improved performance," Tobias added.

In response to a question put by Integral Asset Management mining analyst Bruce Williamson about when Bokoni would achieve its targeted 120 000 t steady state, Tobias recalled that Bokoni's earlier 60 000 t lower-grade effort had proved unviable and that the new way forward was the chosen higher-grade 120 000 t throughput level.

ARM COO Jacques van der Bijl's elaboration on the 120 000 t throughput decision included the pointing out that most labour-intensive PGM mines have relatively high fixed costs that require minimum ounce production levels to cover those fixed costs and ensure cash competitiveness.

"However, the benefit that Bokoni has is the high in situ grade," Van der Bijl pointed out

When Bokoni's grades of 6.5 g/t to 7 g/t are fed into the mill, the number of ounces that can be produced – even at the 120 000 t level – are very comparable to what is currently being produced at ARM's Two Rivers and Modikwa PGM mines, which have considerbly higher throughput, which, he said, places Bokoni in a "very strong" position to survive the price cycles and be economical over the 20-year lifespan currently being planned for Bokoni. Moreover, the upfront capital required is considerably more moderate.

"We're in the process of finalising and just doing third party value engineering, and we should be able to provide further clarity at the next reporting session," Van der Bijl explained.

The UG2 focus carries with it a mineral resource grade 30% higher than Merensky reef and benefits from lower geological losses.

Ore mining and milling operations were suspended at the end of ARM's 2025 financial year as lower-grade on-reef development, combined with a milling capacity limited to 60 000 t proved insufficient to offset fixed costs and maintain profitability. This decision allows Bokoni to focus capital and strategic efforts on off-reef ore reserve development.

Looking ahead, Bokoni's future lies in a higher- grade, phased development path. Given the steeper dip of the orebody, the mining method has been revised to a...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

The 70% reduction in electricity used by the SmeltDirect technology is a huge achievement, a giant leap forward, Phoenix Research's David Roche-Kelly remarked following the update on the local technology during question time at Friday's results presentation of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM).

The Proudly South African smelting technology of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed ARM, headed by founder and nonexecutive chairperson Dr Patrice Motsepe, enables three times more product to be produced using the same amount of electricity.

"We're ready for commercialisation. We've done all the testwork, and we're very confident that our technology will work and that we can smelt alloys using up to 70% less electricity," African Rainbow Metal Technologies (ARMeT) CEO Andre Joubert said in response to Mining Weekly's request for an update on SmeltDirect, which opens the way for South Africa's ores to be processed in South Africa, by South Africans for the benefit of South Africans.

Unlike the 4 MW required by conventional systems, only 1.2 MW of electricity is needed to produce a ton of alloy using SmeltDirect, and some 700 jobs are created for every 200 000 t of alloy produced a year. As a result, SmeltDirect has attracted global attention.

"South Africa is at a pivotal juncture. It can choose to remain a supplier of raw commodities that enrich other countries or become a global leader in mineral-based industries. Beneficiation is not just an economic strategy – it's a national imperative to turn the wealth in the ground into wealth for our population," former UK-based globally rated metals and mining analyst and portfolio manager, Shamim Mansoor, now based back in South Africa, emphasised in an interview with Mining Weekly.

SmeltDirect also halves carbon emission and takes users down the cost curve in not only ferroalloy production but also the revival of lost steel opportunities.

"As communicated in our previous update, the feasibility study for the commercialisation of SmeltDirect at Machadodorp for the production of 300ktpa of ferrochrome has now been completed, following the successful demonstration of the technology on the smelting of chrome ores," Joubert added in a written update on SmeltDirect to Mining Weekly. However, it should be noted that the projected financial returns are currently constrained by prevailing macroeconomic factors, most notably the exchange rate environment.

In the absence of deliberate and targeted government interventions to address these structural challenges, it will remain difficult for any producer to sustainably manufacture ferroalloys in South Africa – even when deploying a breakthrough technology such as SmeltDirect, which will be the lowest cost producer in South Africa. "Our current demonstration operations at Machadodorp are, in the near term, focused on the production of manganese alloys and a range of specialised steel-grade alloys. These initiatives are being pursued in collaboration with a number of local and international partners," Joubert pointed out.

There is known to be significant interest from international partners wanting to partner ARMeT to accelerate the commercialisation of SmeltDirect, which has managed to survive ARM's strict financial discipline.

Those closest to SmeltDirect emphasise that strong positivity continues to surround it because of the depth of its energy reduction and promise of its better environmental friendliness.

Advantageously, SmeltDirect can also be spread to a return of the local production of high-manganese rail and the introduction of greener steel.

Already bankable, SmeltDirect allows for fossil fuel reductants to be replaced with biocarbon.

The SmeltDirect update arises amid the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture having ...