
Phakisa moved from project to operating mine on the Basal Reef in FY11, after starting production in FY08. Once the expansion project is complete, this mine will operate to a depth of some 2 400 metres with monthly capacity of 72 000 tonnes. Phakisa includes the Nyala shaft, some five kilometres away, which is used to hoist rock and as a second escape route. Ore mined at Phakisa is processed at Harmony 1 plant, some 20 kilometres away.
As reported in FY10, an explosion underground shortly after year end tragically resulted in five fatalities (FY10: three). There were no further fatalities in the review period. The LTIFR for FY11 was 10.27 per million hours worked (FY10: 8.40).
Phakisa employed 3 105 people in FY11, including 239 contractors.
Milled volumes increased by 14% year on year. This, together with a 13% improvement in recovered grade mined, contributed to a 29% increase in gold produced to 56 649oz as part of the build-up strategy.
The start of the review period was tragically marred for Phakisa after an explosion, caused by an underground fire, in which five mine rescue team members died while manning a fresh-air base. This event also resulted in the loss of 13 production days, exacerbated by an ice-pipe failure in the shaft and fire in the 66 – 63 stope.
The production build-up was affected by geological issues, illegal mining activities and down-time on the new infrastructure. Pleasingly, Phakisa set a record of 1 763t ice per day, resulting in water temperatures of <6°C which in turn improved both ventilation and productivity. Some remaining issues with the ice plant as well as settler failure at Nyala are being addressed.
| Production | FY11 | FY10 | FY09 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volumes milled | 000t (metric) | 387 | 339 | 185 |
| 000t (imperial) | 427 | 374 | 204 | |
| Gold produced | kg | 1 762 | 1 371 | 691 |
| oz | 56 649 | 44 079 | 22 216 | |
| Average grade | g/t | 4.55 | 4.04 | 3.74 |
| oz/t | 0.133 | 0.118 | 0.109 | |
| Financial | ||||
| Revenue | R million | 551 | 375 | 171 |
| US$ million | 79 | 50 | 19 | |
| Operating cost* | R/kg | 269 531 | 232 190 | 160 712 |
| US$/oz | 1 200 | 953 | 555 | |
| Operating profit | R million | 78 | 49 | 64 |
| US$ million | 11 | 7 | 7 | |
| Capital expenditure | R million | 369 | 486 | 461 |
| US$ million | 53 | 64 | 51 | |
| People | ||||
| Number of employees | ||||
| Employees | 2 866 | 2 858 | ||
| Contractors | 239 | 176 | ||
| Total | 3 105 | 3 034 | ||
| HDSAs in management | % | 30 | 32 | |
| Women in mining | % | 9 | 11 | |
| Expenditure on training and development | R million | 14 | 10 | |
| Safety | ||||
| fatalities | 5 | 3 | ||
| LTIFR | per million hours worked | 10.27 | 8.40 | |
| Environment | ||||
| Electricity used | 000MWh | 95 | 67 | |
| Water used for primary activities** | 000m3 | 717 | 408 | |
| GHG emissions | 000t CO2e | 247 | 81 | |
| Expenditure on local economic development | R million | 5 | 2 | |
| Status of mining right | New-order mining right granted in December 2007 | |||
* Includes royalty payment in FY10 and FY11.
** Increase primarily relects transition from development phase to production.
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