One of the doyens of the Goldfields gold mining history is to take its last bow when operations are placed on care and maintenance in July.
This is two years earlier than planned.
The closure will cause an impairment loss of R144 million. In the six months ended in December, production from the mine dropped 20% year-on-year as a result of increased seismicity.
Harmony reported seven fatalities in the six months ended December, which played a major factor in the disappointing numbers.
Sihle Maake, group communications lead at Harmony Gold Mining, says around 1 500 of the employees will be redeployed within the company.
“We do not envisage any section 189 (or forced) retrenchments. We have also implemented a reclamation programme, and rehabilitation of the mine and surrounding areas will commence post closure,” she says.
Harmony is not planning on opening a new mine at the moment, but continues to explore other opportunities to grow the organisation.
Bambanani Mine is situated in the southern part of the Welkom Goldfields.
In its heyday, Bambanani was known as a heavyweight producer in the Anglogold Group.
The mine comprised of an east and a west shaft, and the east shaft was originally named President Steyn No 4 shaft and was commissioned in the mid-1970s. The associated subshaft was commissioned in the early 1980s. West shaft, first known as the President Brand No 4 shaft, was commissioned in the 1960s.
Estimations indicated that east shaft had an expected life of mine to 2010, with the completion of the shaft-pillar extraction.
In a statement on Monday, Harmony, South Africa’s biggest gold producer, announced that it was working on a pipeline of projects to ensure its sustainability as its older South African gold operations continue to close.
The group, which announced a 69% slide in interim profit on Monday (28/02), said its Bambanani mine would be placed on care and maintenance.
Harmony planned to shut Bambanani in 2024 along with other ageing mines Masimong (closure still set for 2023 and Kusasalethu (2024). The schedule for these other closures remains unchanged.
Peter Steenkamp, chief executive officer (CEO) of Harmony Gold, said it was with a heavy heart that the company decided to shut Bambanani.
“Bambanani has some of the best crews and most experienced in Harmony. There is 17% of the pillar left, but we are slowing down the mining,” said Steenkamp on Monday.
