Harmony Gold, the third largest gold mining company in South Africa on Tuesday warned shareholders that the 21-days national lockdown will negatively affect its production targets and profitability.
The nationwide lockdown was announced by President Ramaphosa on Monday night.
The company however, committed its support for the Covid-19 directives announced by Ramaphosa.
Harmony said that its board, executive and management are at work on detailed arrangements to manage the effects of the lockdown on the business and will be in a position to disclose more detailed information to their stakeholders over the next two days.
The mining house has now decided to place its Mines in South Africa under “care and maintenance” for the duration of the lockdown.
Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp said the company’s shareholders are cautioned that the COVID-19 directive will impact negatively on Harmony’s annual production guidance of 1.4 million ounces which will in turn hurt the company’s profits for the current financial year.
“This is an unprecedented time in the history of the mining industry and our country. The health and safety of all South Africans must take precedence and as such, we are committed to making decisions that will ensure the continued viability of our company,” says Steenkamp.
