The planned shutdown at Harmony Gold Mining’s Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was completed two weeks ahead of schedule and processing of ore recommenced on the 15 of November 2017, following the planned four-month plant shutdown.
More than 65% of the planned initial capital investment in the stage 5 and 6 cutback has been incurred to date and the project is progressing ahead of schedule and on budget, all whilst maintaining the highest safety standards.
At the 2017 Mining and Petroleum Conference and Trade Fair in Papua New Guinea, the General Manager at Hidden Valley, Gary Davies, highlighted the safety at the mine is industry leading, with a lost-time injury rate during the past twelve months of 0.2 per million hours worked and the last lost-time injury recorded in April 2017.
Davies also indicated that mining at the Stage 5 cutback is a month ahead of schedule and on budget, with an annualised mining rate of 28 million tpa achieved in October 2017.
It is expected that commercial levels of production will be achieved in the June quarter 2018, as per the company’s plan.
“The Hidden Valley team showcases responsible mining - communities benefit, employees benefit and the mine is well on track to deliver annual steady state gold production of 180 000 oz at an all-in sustaining cost of less than US$950/oz during FY19”, said Peter Steenkamp, CEO of Harmony.