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The South Deep gold mine west of Johannesburg, which is already benefits 50 MW of solar power commissioned last year, is poised to be boosted by another 50 MW to 80 MW of wind power going forward.

"We're busy with the wind study to put up those turbines. We're having very positive results on the tower that we put up," interim Gold Fields CEO Martin Preece told Mining Weekly during a media briefing following the company's release of quarter-three operational results.

Third-quarter production was 542 000 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1 381/oz and an all-in cost (AIC) of $1 622 oz. Third-quarter AISC of $1 381/oz was 30% higher year-on-year and 8% higher quarter-on-quarter.

The Johannesburg- and New York-listed company remains on track to meet the original production and cost guidance provided in February 2023, both at guided and forecast exchange rates. Attributable gold equivalent production is expected to be between 2.25-million ounces and 2.3-million ounces, compared with 2.32-million ounces in 2022. AIC is expected to be $1 480/oz to $1 520/oz.

Regarding South Deep's wind energy facility, a mast was erected to measure wind, bird life and bat life.

"We are currently busy with the environmental permitting for the wind facility. That should be close to completion in the second quarter of next year," said Preece.

At the same time, the renewable energy team working on where best to position the wind turbines along with their engineering design and final costing.

"We intend to make sensible arguments about advancing the wind project and taking it to the board for approval next year," Preece added.

Provision has been made in Gold Fields' long-term costing for the wind facility.

"We haven't arrived at the exact number of wind megawatts yet for South Deep but

we're most probably going to generate somewhere between 50 MW and 80 MW," Preece said in response to Mining Weekly during a media briefing following the company's release of quarter-three operational results.

In Australia, additional solar has been approved at Gold Fields' Granny Smith and Agnew mines, while a comprehensive study is being finalised to take the St Ives mine to 72% renewables.

The St Ives proposal will be presented to the board before year-end for the approval of a $200-million-plus investment, to be spent over a period of 2024 and 2025.

In Canada, a fully renewable hydropower electricity allocation has been allocated by Quebec Power for the Windfall project, where powerline construction to the mine is about 80% complete.

"Early next year, we should be able to switch Windfall on to a renewable source of electricity from hydroelectricity," said Preece.

Gold Fields is partnering Osisko Mining to develop Windfall, where third-quarter pre-construction has rep an expenditure of $25-million.

In Chile, an environmental impact assessment has been approved for solar power at the Salares Norte project, where more renewables study work is needed, "but I think it's more important right now that we get the mills turning and some gold coming out the backend at Salares rather than losing focus with solar panels".

COLLEAGUES FROM GHANA MOVING TO AUSTRALIA

On skills shortages in Australia and South Africa, Preece said the Western Australian government was reducing entry requirements and making it easier for Gold Fields to get expatriates into the country.

"The challenge in Western Australia is a little bit different to what we find at South Deep in that there's basically 97% employment in Western Australia and that 3% unemployment is not made up of people looking for jobs.

"It's made up of people who either can't work or don't need to work. The job market doesn't have surplus skills. You've got big infrastructure spend in the cities, which is attracting mining people because they know that they can go home every night.

"Then, you're also competing with the big bulk miners who so...

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South African ilmenite used to manufacture titanium dioxide pigment in KwaZulu-Natal has received a major value boost with the signing of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the long-awaited sulphuric acid titanium dioxide project that has been championed over many years by Nyanza Light Metals CEO Donovan Chimhandamba.

The project highlights the huge opportunity for Africa and South Africa to move up the value curve by establishing advanced material production companies that make competitive use of locally mined materials.

The $750-million required for the far-reaching titanium dioxide (TiO2) project is no small change and has been awaiting the high-level EPC signing with East China Engineering Science and Technology Company (ECEC), a subsidiary of China National Chemical Engineering Group Company.

The signing was essential to give the many finance houses committed to funding the 80 000 t/y project the confidence needed.

This solace stems from ECEC having built 31 plants in China over 60 years, as well as the EPC signed being followed by an ongoing operational upkeep agreement.

The important backdrop to all this is that South Africa's ilmenite, a heavy mineral sands derivative, sells at around $300/t on export markets, whereas using it to manufacture TiO2 pigment at the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone will enable it to potentially fetch a ten-times-higher $3 000/t.

The first thing the R14-billion Nyanza project is seeking to achieve is to move Africa's abundant raw materials up the value curve, Chimhandamba emphasised to Engineering News & Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview earlier this year.

The 80 000 t/y of TiO2 pigment is probably around half of Africa's buying capacity and just over 1% in terms of the global market.

TiO2 is widely used in the fields of coatings, cosmetics, medicine, electronics and environmental protection. However, at present, there is not a single TiO2 factory in operation all across Africa, China Chemical Industry News journalists Li Dongzhou and Wang Peng have noted in their article sent to Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

At last month's third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing, the EPC signing breakthrough was finally achieved.

With shared technology and cooperation, Nyanza will produce TiO2 pigment in South Africa, demonstrating how the Belt and Road Initiative is benefiting development in Africa through cooperation with China, Dongzhou and Peng emphasise.

Nyanza will be sourcing its ilmenite from within South Africa and Mining Weekly can report manufacturing costs could be lowered further if a way is found to blend in the 45-million tons of stockpiled ilmenite-containing slag at Evraz, the former Highveld Steel and Vanadium, in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga. The blending in could conceivably be brought about with higher-content ilmenite, or synthetic rutile from Richards Bay Minerals.

Self-generation of 12 MW of solar power supported by battery storage is planned, augmented by cogenerated electricity from theTiO2 pigment plant itself once it is in operation.

Already commissioned is a R200-million product testing and development centre, which is able to provide 700 t/y of TiO2 pigment sample to offtake partners.

Offtake agreements for more than 60% of the 80 000 t/y capacity have already been signed and while the main plant is being built, the testing and development will be used to train the 850 employees that will be brought in early for upskilling.

Africa Finance Corporation of Nigeria and African Export-Import Bank of Egypt are co-funders of the project's feasibility phase, and a third multilateral international finance institution is going through concluding the agreements. Senior debt is already oversubscribed, equity players have expressed interest, financial close is likely by year-end and construction is expected to begin next year.

Arkein Industr...

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Green hydrogen generation received a major boost on Tuesday with the introduction of a far-reaching iridium-thrifting breakthrough by Germany's Heraeus Precious Metals in collaboration with South Africa's Sibanye-Stillwater.

The introduction of the new ruthenium-based catalyst for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis crucially improves the sustainability of climate-critical hydrogen production by reducing material cost and the reliance on iridium, a highly scarce and expensive platinum group metal (PGM). Primary production of ruthenium, also a PGM, is 3.5 times that of iridium.

The unveiling of the quantum leap at the P2X conference in Frankfurt on Tuesday coincides with green hydrogen emerging as the indispensable element of a genuinely green and clean energy transition.

Moreover, the global Hydrogen Council has announced expectation of capacities of 175 gigawatts (GW) of the lightest element by 2030.

Hugely important for PGMs demand is that 40% of this future hydrogen capacity is poised to brought about by PGM-based PEM electrolysis, a technology that has up to now been constrained by iridium's extremely limited supply.

With only about nine metric tons of iridium mined annually and widespread utilisation in various industries, supply bottlenecks were feared - until the latest breakthrough.

Currently, about 400 kg of iridium is required to build one GW of capacity. A reduction to less than 100 kg per GW is necessary to avoid supply bottlenecks. Heraeus' latest innovation, in collaboration with Sibanye-Stillwater, presents an 85% saving on iridium compared with an iridium oxide catalyst, alleviating the potential supply concerns.

Alongside iridium, ruthenium also catalyses the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is the critical stage in PEM electrolysis.

Ruthenium possesses superior catalytic activity to iridium but lacks stability in the challenging conditions of a PEM electrolyser stack.

The Heraeus concept solves this problem by combining both ruthenium and iridium oxide in a novel manner, enhancing stability while maintaining the increased catalytic activity provided by ruthenium.

This ruthenium-iridium oxide material class delivers an unprecedented activity boost. The catalyst can achieve up to 50 times higher mass activity than iridium oxide, and unlike ruthenium oxide alone, it remains stable in operational conditions.

Accelerated degradation tests confirmed its stability after 30 000 cycles, presenting activity loss significantly lower than for ruthenium oxide and on par with iridium oxide. These findings were verified by Mattiq, a start-up based in Chicago, US, which combined industry expertise in chemistry and materials science and performed high throughput screening experiments for the development project.

By including ruthenium, Heraeus not only helps mitigate potential supply bottlenecks but also brings significant commercial benefits. By implementing this breakthrough, a significant 90% reduction in capital expenditure on material costs can be achieved, ensuring hydrogen production becomes more economically feasible and efficient.

"The dramatic reduction in capital expenditure needed per GW enabled by our new ruthenium-based catalyst not only addresses the iridium supply problem but also makes economic sense. It is solutions like these that will champion the necessary scale-up of the hydrogen industry, bringing us closer to achieving our global green energy goals," Heraeus Precious Metals EVP new business development Dr Philipp Walter stated in a media release to Mining Weekly.

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman added: "As the largest producer of primary iridium globally, we firmly believe that sustainable demand of these metals, with supply in mind, is beneficial for the entire industry. The commendable progress achieved by Heraeus in their work to date is encouraging, and we highly value our partnership in thi...

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Higher free cash flow, higher recovered grades, higher production and higher received gold price have been reported by Harmony Gold in its operational update for the three months ended September 30, the first quarter of the JSE-listed gold mining company's 2024 financial year.

Group operating free cash flow in the quarter rocketed by 278% to R3 236-million on higher recovered grades at the Mponeng and Moab Khotsong gold mines in South Africa and by a strong quarter at Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

"The first quarter saw a continuation of the strong operating performance across all our operations," Harmony stated in a release to Mining Weekly on Monday, November 13.

High-grade South African underground operations contributed 53% towards group operating free cash flow and the PNG mine 22%.

The initial quarter of Harmony's new financial year has been sufficiently buoyant to give confidence that annual guidance of 1 380 000 oz to 1 480 000 oz will be produced in the full year. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) below R975 000/kg and underground grade of 5.6 g/t to 5.75g/t are forecast.

Highlights for the three months ended September 30 include a 17% increase in total quarterly gold production to 425 130 oz, compared with 363 336 oz the same three months of corresponding period of Harmony's 2023 financial year.

AISC for the quarter was $1 404/oz was 7% improved and quarterly gold revenue was 33% higher at R14 781-million on an 18%-higher rand gold price received of R1 127 208/kg.

Underpinned by the high-grade Mponeng and Moab Khotsong mines were 18% higher recovered grades to 6.29 g/t from 5.35g/t. owing to entry into the high-grade 'Big Red' part of the orebody.

Silver production from Hidden Valley jumped by 55% to 993 914 oz and the average silver price received rose by 35% to $23.59/oz, taking revenue to R433-million.

Production of uranium, a by-product of the gold extraction process at Moab Khotsong, leaped by 50% to 154 420 lb and uranium sold by 116% to 205 000 lb. Year-on-year, the average uranium price received increased by 24% to $58.21/lb, resulting in uranium revenue of R223-million for the quarter.

Harmony's key gold projects in execution include the tailings storage facility expansion at

Mine Waste Solutions and the Zaaiplaats project, which is the life of mine extension at Moab Khotsong.

Harmony looks forward to working with Newmont as it continue with the permitting of Wafi-Golpu in PNG.

Sustainability is informing the updating the feasibility study for the Eva Copper project in Australia, where a key project consideration is to include the supply of renewable power in the project plan.

The sequencing of capital expenditure is expected to remain largely unchanged, with comfortable levels of capital intensity alongside a robust balance sheet.

Regarding health and safety, Harmony is deeply saddened by three colleagues - Amahle Nodangala, a rock drill operator and Luvuyo Sangeni, a development team member, both from Kusasalethu in Gauteng, and Mlandelwa Zide, a scraper winch operator from Tshepong North in the Free State - losing their lives in two separate fall-of-ground events.

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Gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti is advancing decarbonisation projects at the Geita mine in Tanzania, has commenced renewable energy project works at the Tropicana mine in Australia, and a big solar project in Ghana could be next on its list.

The project at Geita, which is located in north-western Tanzania, in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the region, will replace diesel generation at the site with grid power sourced from a more environment-friendly combination of energies including hydropower.

The renewables investment at Tropicana, which is located in Western Australia, has followed the project at Geita.

A large solar project in Ghana, where AngloGold has the Obuasi mine, is envisaged, with more detail being provided on that into the New Year.

For a long time, diesel gensets have been used to generate the bulk of the power for the processing plant at Geita.

"But we are shifting that to the national grid, which has got a higher proportion of its energy from alternative sources, mainly hydropower, and then we'll keep those diesel gensets on site as backup," AngloGold senior VP investor relations and group communications Stewart Bailey explained to Mining Weekly during question time after the New York- and Johannesburg-listed company's presentation of third quarter production performance.

"That process with the State utility at Geita will be happening over the end of this year into next year. We see a significant drop in our emissions on site from that.

"It's a very good project for us, dependent on hydro levels in the dams in Tanzania being in a good state. But that plan is moving ahead and by around mid-year next year, the full benefit of that should start being seen. It's actually a reduction in tariff and a reduction in emissions as well.

"Then, more generally, you'll see that we've signed the deal with Pacific Energy at Tropicana. Construction for that project has kicked off and after that Ghana is potentially next on the list," Bailey added.

As reported by Mining Weekly in June, the AngloGold agreement with Pacific Energy involves the building of one of the largest renewable energy projects in Australia's natural resource sector and is integrated into the existing power supply for Tropicana.

Pacific Energy will build and operate 62 MW of wind and solar generation capacity at the site.

AngloGold expects the use of renewables will help it reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. "We have a responsibility to proactively identify and address current and future climate-related threats.

"This renewables project at Tropicana is another important step forward for us, not only in realising our overall climate objectives, but also improving our overall security of energy supply and significantly reducing the site's natural gas consumption," AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon has outlined.

In 2022, AngloGold announced a plan to cut Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 through a combination of renewable energy projects and initiatives which improve efficiency or use lower-emission power sources.

The Tropicana renewable energy solution will be integrated into the existing 54 MW gas-fired power station at the mine under a ten-year build-own-operate agreement.

The new infrastructure will comprise four 6 MW wind turbines, about 44 100 photovoltaic panels making up the 24 MW solar plant, and a 14 MW battery storage system.

This is expected to reduce natural gas consumption at Tropicana by about 50%. The Tropicana project is expected to be completed in early 2025.

Third-quarter gold production of AngloGold rose to 673 000 oz from 652 000 oz in the second quarter of 2023 mainly owing to higher ore tonnes processed, partly offset by lower overall recovered grades. The three highest gold production gains quarter-on-quarter were from Africa, with Iduapriem up 27%, Siguiri up 22% and Kibali reporting a 13% increase.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses next year's Olympics, which aims to showcase platinum-based hydrogen technology as a net-zero solution; Phalaborwa's potential to become one of the most environmentally friendly and lowest-cost rare earth projects in the world; and Harmony Gold's substantial savings from three solar power projects.

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Gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti has reaffirmed annual production guidance for 2023 after third-quarter gold production improved versus the second quarter, continuing the recovery from setbacks faced in the first and second quarters at its mines in Brazil and Guinea.

The New York- and Johannesburg-listed UK domiciled AngloGold, which has recorded no fatalities in the nine months to September 30, continued to build third-quarter momentum with a 3% increase in gold production versus the second quarter of the year.

Gold production rose to 673 000 oz in the third quarter of 2023 from 652 000 oz in the second quarter of 2023 mainly due to higher ore tonnes processed partly offset by lower overall recovered grades.

The three highest gold production gains quarter-on-quarter were from Africa, with Iduapriem up the 27%, Siguiri up 22% and Kibali reporting a 13% increase.

These increases in gold production quarter-on-quarter, which included South America's Serra Grande's 9%, again Africa's Geita at 6% and then Australia's Tropicana at 3%, were partly offset by were partly offset by a 19% lower production performance at Obuasi in Ghana, 13% lower production at AGA Mineração in Brazil, 5% lower production at Cerro Vanguardia in Argentina and 3% lower production at Sunrise Dam in Australia. Adjusting for the placement of Córrego do Sítio in Brazil in care and maintenance, gold production was up 5% quarter-on-quarter.

AngloGold has been taking steps to close the value gap with its international peers. These efforts involve initiatives to enhance cost-efficiency and extend the life of its mines while also prioritising safety, optimising cash flow, and ensuring the successful delivery of projects.

The primary listing migration to the NYSE was completed on September 25, to enable enhanced access to the world's largest capital market and improved positioning alongside the gold industry's most highly valued companies.

"Gold production has improved in the third quarter of 2023 and is expected to step up again over the remainder of the year, in line with our guidance," CEO Alberto Calderon stated in a media release to Mining Weekly.

"We continue the work across a number of fronts to enhance our competitiveness versus our peers; our corporate restructuring is complete, we've continued to sharpen our operational and project focus, and we're on track to deliver on our decarbonisation commitments," Calderon added.

As part of the approach to narrow management focus and direct its capital allocation to the Company's Tier One and Tier Two operating assets, as well as its high-return development projects, the process of placing the loss-making Córrego do Sítio mine in care and maintenance began during August 2023, and the sale of 50% indirect interest in the Gramalote project to B2Gold Corp was completed.

Studies related to AngloGold's first development in the Beatty Mining District in Nevada, USA, are advancing with disclosure earlier this year of an initial 8.4-million ounce of mineral resource and an initial exploration target of between six and eight million ounces from the Merlin deposit being reported.

A final investment decision for North Bullfrog is anticipated in 2024, once the appropriate permits have been received.

Furthermore, the decarbonisation programme has been advancing at the Geita site, in Tanzania, and at the Tropicana site, in Western Australia.

Preparation for connecting the mine site to the Tanzania grid, which has a high percentage of its power mix from renewable energy sources, is well advanced, while at the Tropicana project, works have commenced for the construction of a 62 MW wind and solar facility.

Additional salient points from the third quarter of 2023 include:

• Geita, which recorded improved gold production versus the prior quarter of 2023, being on track for a strong finish to the year with a production target of 500 000 oz.

• Kibal...

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South Africa's Harmony Gold on Thursday expressed excitement at the prospect of working with the Newmont team as its new Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (JV) partner in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Denver-based Newmont closed its roughly $15-billion acquisition of Newcrest Mining on Monday, ending a nearly year-long effort to buy the Australian gold mining company.

"As the largest gold mining company in the world, Newmont is an excellent partner with great credentials," Harmony investor relations head Jared Coetzer commented in response to a Mining Weekly request.

"As it relates to the permitting of Wafi-Golpu, nothing has changed and we now look forward to working with Newmont to ensure that this project is brought to fruition, creating value for all stakeholders.

"Until now, we have not been in any operating partnerships with Newmont but we will continue the close working relationship we established with Newcrest through the JV.

"It is encouraging that ex-Harmonites and many South Africans are working at Newmont. Their CEO, Tom Palmer, is familiar with South African mining, as he worked in South Africa for close to six years, and Alwyn Pretorius, who was recently announced as country manager for PNG by Newmont, was the COO at Harmony from 2008 to 2015," Coetzer added

Mining Weekly understands that with the takeover of Newcrest, Newmont will operate 20 mines in 11 countries. The move reportedly boosts the company's gold output to an estimated 8.5-million ounces a year while significantly increasing its exposure to copper.

"Our attention now turns to safely, efficiently, and responsibly integrating Newcrest's assets and people into Newmont's proven operating model, so we can accelerate the delivery of our value-focused strategy for all our stakeholders," said Palmer, following this week's takeover announcement.

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An extensive due diligence process has confirmed the potential of South Africa's Phalaborwa project as one of the lowest cost producers of separated rare earth oxides in development, London Stock Exchange-listed Rainbow Rare Earths stated on Wednesday in announcing its entry into an investment option agreement with TechMet,

"Phalaborwa has the potential to become one of the most environmentally friendly and lowest-cost rare earth projects anywhere in the world," TechMet chairperson and CEO Brian Menell stated in the November 8 media release to Mining Weekly.

Menell, a member of South Africa's illustrious Menell family of Anglovaal mining and industrial renown, highlighted Rainbow's proprietary separation technology as providing Phalaborwa with a significant opportunity to fast-track production of the four most economically important rare earth elements, which the company describes as being essential for future supply chains for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other products vital to the energy transition and the global economy.

The project is expected to be cash generative across the rare earths pricing cycle.

TechMet, in which the US International Development Finance Corporation is a shareholder, has been granted an option to invest $50-million equity funding in the capital cost and take a direct ownership stake of 15% to 33% at project level, underpinning the $151.5-million to $333.3-million equity valuation of the project.

Rainbow CEO George Bennett described the financially derisking TechMet option as validation of Rainbow's focus on the development of rare earths from secondary sources.

"We expect Phalaborwa to continue to attract funding, especially from US sources of capital, due to the focus on the critical role of these rare earth metals in the technology-driven industrial and clean energy age," Bennett added.

The project involves the recovery of rare earths from gypsum and waste dumps and is poised to be part of the journey to a net-zero world, which will require an unprecedented increase in the supply of rare earths required for the clean energy transition.

The Phalaborwa project, which offers near-term production opportunity of all four of the permanent magnet rare earths required for the green energy transition, will involve the processing of phosphogypsum stacks.

These are the byproduct of historic phosphoric acid production on the site, which ceased in 2014.

The phosphogypsum stacks on surface, which enables quicker and lower-cost production, will be processed into separated rare earth oxides of 99.95% purity, using proprietary separation technology developed by Rainbow in partnership with K- Technologies.

This separation technique replaces traditional solvent extraction technology and Rainbow's operations will clean-up the legacy acid water environmental issues on site and deplete the gypsum stacks over time.

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Gold mining company Harmony estimates that it will achieve total cumulative net present value savings of R3.6-billion from its three solar power projects, one of them already generating 30 MW of clean, green energy.

To reduce its carbon footprint, the JSE-listed Harmony, headed by CEO Peter Steenkamp, has been building and commissioning renewable energy projects at its South African operations since May 2022.

Harmony's decarbonisation strategy is guiding operations to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 along a transition pathway that includes energy efficiency, portfolio re-engineering, electricity mix, improvement adaptation and decarbonisation of the transportation sector.

Within host communities, Harmony, chaired by Dr Patrice Motsepe, is working with the Federation for a Sustainable Environment to build a resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The savings from the phased introduction of these projects is detailed in Harmony's latest Environmental Social Governance Report, which shows a total of 223 MW solar power over three phases being augmented by 140 MW of wind power in a fourth phase.

A 30 MW solar plant commissioned for Tshepong, Nyala and Eland in May at a capital cost of R5-billion, is expected to save R340-million over 15 years as it takes 62 000 t/y of carbon out of the air.

The construction of the second-phase 137 MW solar project under way for supply to Moab Khotsong, Great Noligwa and Noligwa gold plant in 2025 at a capital cost of R2.5-billion, will save R2.5-billion over 15 years. Capital of R1.7-billion will be invested for the first 100 MW, and the remaining 37 MW will be allocated to an independent power producer to collectively eliminate 4.6-million tonnes of carbon over 25 years.

Funding for its decarbonisation strategy is facilitated by Rand Merchant Bank, African Clean Energy Developments, African Infrastructure Investment Managers, Mahlako Energy Fund, Absa and Nedbank. The facilities, amounting to R4-billion, include a R1.5-billion green loan for the second phase of the renewable energy programme.

Harmony's current assets are predominantly deep underground mining operations, which are more energy intensive than surface mines and account for 89% of the group's total electricity consumption in its 2023 financial year. In South Africa, energy accounts for about 19% of operating costs.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

More diesel power than grid power is being used at Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea (PNG) following a drought constraining PNG Power's hydropower capacity. Water in Yonki dam, serving the Ramu hydropower station, was critically low for most of the year and smaller run-of-river hydropower plants were also restricted to 30% of normal supply to the Ramu grid. This led to intense loadshedding until the hydropower generation recovered. However, commissioning of the 11.6 MW Baime hydropower plant owned by PNG Forest Products in March augmented PNG Power supply.

In Australia, Harmony is assessing alternative power supply options and mixes for Eva Copper, including the integration of renewables into project design and future opportunities related to the Queensland government's CopperString project. The May 2020 Eva Copper feasibility study and December 2021 update, prepared before Harmony acquired the copper asset, proposed gas-fired power as the life-of-mine solution for the project. However, in keeping with its climate change commitments, Harmony is revisiting its power source and energy mix as part of a detailed review and optimisation study. Alternative power supply options and mixes are being assessed, including integration of renewables into project design and future opportunities related to the Queensland government's CopperString project. To understand future power supply options, various stakeholders are being worked with, including the government-owned Powerlink Queensland, which will construct and manage Co...