According to a Bloomberg News report on February 24, 2021, Harmony Gold Mining Co. is considering further increasing the depth of underground mining in the world’s deepest gold mine, as South African producers discovered , It has become more and more difficult to mine the dwindling ore reserves.
Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp said that the company is studying the mining of gold mines in Mponeng beyond the current 4 kilometers depth, which may extend the life of the mine by 20 to 30 years. He believes that the ore reserves below this depth are “huge”, and Harmony is exploring the methods and investment needed to develop these deposits.
Harmony Gold Mining Company is one of the few remaining gold producers in South Africa that squeezed profits from aging assets. It was backed by African Rainbow Minerals Ltd., a subsidiary of black billionaire Patrice Motsepe, last year. Acquired the Mboneng Gold Mine and its assets from AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., becoming the largest gold producer in South Africa.
Harmony announced on Tuesday that its profit in the first half of the year increased by more than three times. The company’s goal is to maintain the annual output of the Mboneng Gold Mine at around 250,000 ounces (7 tons), which may help maintain the company’s total output at around 1.6 million ounces (45.36 tons). However, as the mining depth increases, the risk of earthquake events and death of workers trapped underground is also increasing. The company said that between June and December last year, six workers were killed in mining accidents during the company’s operations.
Mboneng world-class gold mine is currently the deepest mine in the world, and it is also one of the largest and highest grade gold mines. The mine is located in the northwestern edge of the Witwatersrand Basin in the Northwestern Province of South Africa. It is a Rand-type ancient conglomerate gold-uranium deposit. As of December 2019, the proven and potential ore reserves of Mboneng Gold Mine are approximately 36.19 million tons, the gold grade is 9.54g/t, and the gold reserves contained are approximately 11 million ounces (345 tons); Mboneng Gold Mine in 2019 The gold production of 224,000 ounces (6.92 tons).
The South African gold industry was once the largest in the world, but with the increase in the cost of mining deep gold mines and the increase in geological difficulties, the country’s gold industry has shrunk. With large gold producers such as Anglo Gold Mining Company and Gold Fields Ltd. shifting their focus to other lucrative mines in Africa, Australia and the Americas, the South African gold industry produced 91 tons of gold last year, and currently only 93,000 employees.