They say be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. In Harmony Gold’s case it has long wished for growth and expansion outside SA’s borders. There was a brief spell when the Hidden Valley gold and silver mine shared with Australia’s Newcrest Mining in Papua New Guinea played a role in the Harmony portfolio before persistent difficulties stopped operations. Harmony subsequently bought Newcrest’s stake and invested $180m to restart the mine as a wholly owned venture. Hidden Valley will play a critical part in funding Harmony’s half share of the $2.8bn development capital to build a monster copper and gold mine at the Wafi-Golpu deposit in Papua New Guinea. Harmony’s $1.4bn spend over five years is more than its market capitalisation. However, the price tag could be smaller if the Papua New Guinea government buys a stake of up to 30% in the project, leaving Harmony and Newcrest with 35% each and a substantially smaller bill. Assuming Harmony doesn’t sell its stake or d...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.