Harmony Gold, a South African gold mining company, increased its production prediction for the year to June 2024 by about 5% on Tuesday.
The main factor contributing to this rise will be the greater quality of metals, resulting in increased profitability per ton processed and decreased costs per ounce produced.
In an operational update, the company said it anticipates its total gold output for the year to reach 1.55 million ounces. This is an increase over the earlier projection of between 1.38 million and 1.48 million ounces.
Harmony Gold stated that its all-in sustaining cost, which is a metric used in the industry, is now projected to be about 920,000 rand (over $49,300) per kilogram of gold. This is a decrease from the prior prediction of roughly 975,000 rand (more than $52,000).
Furthermore, the increase in grades reached an average of 6 grams per ton, surpassing the previous estimate of 5.6-5.75 grams per ton.
Moreover, Harmony achieved a production of 1.18 million ounces in the nine-month period ending on March 31, representing a 10% growth compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
Gold revenue also increased by 26%, and group operating free cash flow increased by 171% to about $470 million, which was driven by higher grades recovered from several of the company's mines.
While Harmony Gold has been around for almost 75 years, some other African countries are just starting to build their own mining facilities. For example, Mali plans to build a gold processing plant, the country's Minister of Mines, Amadou Keita, told Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the Atomexpo 2024 international forum last month.
The plant will be built with the help of the Russian company Krastsvetmet and will be capable of processing 200 tonnes of gold per year.