'It's like coming home' for Harmony's new boss

Steenkamp, 55, who worked at the company previously for four years, will start on January 1, the Randfontein, South Africa-based company said in a statement Monday. He also worked at African Rainbow Minerals and Pamodzi Gold between his stints at Harmony.

“Returning to the gold sector and to Harmony is like coming home," Steenkamp said in the statement. “The company has demonstrated its resilience during recent challenging times and has been positioned for profitability by the management team.”

South Africa’s third-largest gold company, which operates mainly aging mines, has lost 53% of its market value this year, the biggest drop of 15 major producers tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence as it battles high costs and low ore grades.

While Harmony saw a headline loss of R523m in the quarter ended September 30, output and costs fell, preparing it to repay its debt in the next two years, Briggs said on November 5.