IN THIS SECTION:

Phakisa

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.

Safety

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).

  • More detailed information on safety performance and Harmony’s sustainable development concerns in South Africa can be found in the online sustainable development report.

Phakisa employed 3 105 people in FY11, including 239 contractors.

  • Detailed information on Phakisa’s resources and reserves appears in the mineral resources and mineral reserves section of the annual report.

Operations review

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.

Key statistics

Production  FY11 FY10 FY09
Volumes milled000t (metric) 387 339 185
 000t (imperial) 427 374 204
Gold producedkg 1 762 1 371 691
 oz 56 649 44 079 22 216
Average gradeg/t 4.55 4.04 3.74
 oz/t 0.133 0.118 0.109
Financial    
RevenueR 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 expenditureR 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 developmentR million 14 10
Safety   
fatalities  5 3
LTIFRper million hours worked 10.27 8.40
Environment   
Electricity used000MWh 95 67
Water used for primary activities**000m3 717 408
GHG emissions000t CO2e 247 81
Expenditure on local economic developmentR million 5 2
Status of mining rightNew-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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