Gold and copper mining and exploration company Harmony Gold is on track to meet its production and cost guidance for the financial year ending June 30, as well as surpassing its guidance on underground recovered grades.

In a pre-close statement to shareholders on June 22, CEO Peter Steenkamp said group production would be at the upper end of guidance of between 1.4-million and 1.5-million ounces of gold, while all-in sustaining costs "have remained comfortably below R900 000/kg, as guided, for this financial year".

"We continue to deliver excellent underground recovered grades from our South African operations, underpinned by a phenomenal performance from Mponeng. As a result, underground recovered grades will be higher than the guided 5.6 g/t for the financial year.

"As anticipated, recovered grades at Hidden Valley also improved in the fourth quarter," he pointed out.

Steenkamp added that the company had maintained a "robust and flexible" balance sheet as it continues into the second year of its higher capital expenditure (capex) programme in line with our growth ambitions. 

"This growth programme will improve the quality of our ounces by allocating necessary capital towards our higher-grade underground mines and higher-margin surface and international operations. 

"In addition, we are purposefully allocating capital towards those projects that further our sustainable development commitments. These projects include our comprehensive renewable energy programme of which the construction of Phase 1 is now complete," he said.

Phase 1 of Harmony's renewable energy programme, in South Africa, involved the construction of 30 MW of solar power generation capacity.

Harmony is also investing in a 137 MW second phase of the programme, which is expected to be completed in September 2024.

Meanwhile, Harmony continued to grow its surface retreatment operations and advanced its investment in copper through the successful acquisition of the Eva Copper project, in Australia.

"Harmony also continues to advance the Tier 1 Wafi-Golpu copper/gold project, one of the largest copper/gold block cave projects globally, which represents about 40% of our mineral reserves. The signing of the framework memorandum of understanding with the government of Papua New Guinea in April was a significant step forward towards securing the mining development contract and special mining lease for Wafi-Golpu.

"Together, Eva and Wafi-Golpu provide an enviable global copper growth platform that, once developed, will deliver meaningful copper production into the critical minerals supply chain for decades to come," Steenkamp said.

He commented that he was proud of the company's achievements for the 2023 financial year and said he believed Harmony had a solid foundation, with strong momentum, heading into the new financial year.