JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Harmony Gold's third-quarter production could fall by between 1 000 kg and 1 300 kg, when compared with the previous quarter.

"This has been a difficult quarter... Slow start-ups following the Christmas break, and the closure of shafts, resulted in a decrease in forecasted production," CEO Graham Briggs said on Wednesday.

The company reported produced 11 569 kg of gold in in the second quarter.

The closure of loss-making shafts reduced output by 620 kg in the thrid quarter, which runs to end-March.

The restructuring costs of these closures, which were implemented to lower costs and eliminate losses, amounted to R120-million.

"The first three to six months of these decisions are always painful," Briggs added.

The remaining loss in kilograms came from South African operations.

Tshepong and Masimong had a slow start-up after the Christmas break, while Joel saw lower grades, mainly as a result of the commissioning of the plant and the fact that Kusasalethu faced ore-pass problems during the quarter.

"Kusasalethu, in particular, had a disappointing quarter. Our management team is working hard to try and understand the ore pass situation better and aims to find a solution as soon as possible," Briggs said.

He reported that good progress was being made with the commissioning of Hidden Valley, in Papua New Guinea.

However, Harmony said it expected improved results in the June quarter.

The miner would release its third-quarter results on May 10.

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