Surface operations

There were no fatalities at the surface operations in FY11. The Phoenix and surface operations achieved respective LTIFRs of 2.89 and 2.87 per million hours worked for the year.

More detailed information on safety performance and Harmony’s sustainable development concerns in South Africa can be found in the online sustainable development report, with a summary on pages 6 to 15 of this report.

Detailed information on the surface operations’ resources and reserves appears in the mineral resources and mineral reserves section of this annual report.

Collectively, the Free State surface operations processed 8 391Mt, yielding 2 037kg (65 491oz) of gold. The Phoenix tailings accounted for 587kg (18 937oz), with the balance coming from the waste rock dump programme and other surface operations in the Free State. Recovered grades of 0.11g/t and 0.46g/t were achieved respectively by Phoenix and the waste rock programme and surface operations.

Phoenix, which began four years ago, involves retreating around 6Mt annually (500 000tpm) at plant capacity. Phoenix operations were severely hampered by exceptionally high rainfall, the depletion of the H1 feed source with delayed completion and commissioning of the replacement source Dam 21, severe increases in plant intrusions and cable theft activities. Dam 21 was fully commissioned and teething problems resolved early in May 2011 and tonnage production has since reached target levels. The Dam 21 source proved problematic with plant recovery requiring process modifications. Plans to increase processed volumes up to 900 000 tonnes per month, at which rate the life of the project is around 12 years, have been placed on hold pending performance in FY12 to reestablish confidence in performance and profitability.

Extensive sampling at the water-based tailings dams available for retreatment in the Free State, located mostly between the Bambanani and Unisel operations, as well as around the Merriespruit shafts, has identified seven dams that will be processed through the Steyn, Central and Target gold plants over the next few years. Finite exploration is planned to improve profitability calculations of other potential dams.

Phoenix’s cash operating cost for the year was R256 353/kg, up by 38%. Ore recovered from the waste rock programme and surface operations yielded 1 448kg (46 554oz) of gold at a cost of R238 249/kg for the year. Combined, these surface operations generated revenue of R446 million.