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Johannesburg - Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR], the
world's fifth-largest gold producer, is not planning to sell its Joel mine in
South Africa, Business Day newspaper reported on Thursday.
The paper quoted Harmony CEO Graham Briggs as saying the
mine had a reasonable life left and was profitable.
"This is a prized asset and it is not for sale,"
Briggs was quoted as saying.
The paper said there was a rumour in the market that Wits
Gold, a South African gold and uranium exploration company, wanted to buy the
Joel operations.
Wits Gold issued a cautionary note on November 16 that it
was in talks that may affect its shares.
Briggs said he was more open to considering options on how
to unlock value from Harmony's Evander operations, which needed "a couple
of billion rand" to develop more gold resources and extend the life of the
mine, according to the paper.
Harmony also said last month that it had received a number of enquiries and proposals from parties interested in acquiring its assets in Papua New Guinea, but it was not ready to sell.
