Fin24 reports that Harmony Gold has effectively reduced illegal mining at its operations, which are primarily concentrated in the Free State, and says its blueprint could be applied to mining areas in other parts of the country where the problem is spiralling.

CEO Peter Steenkamp said on Wednesday: "I think we have good control at this point in time." The miner's methods including not just blocking shaft entrances with concrete slabs, but filling them with rubble from the ground up. Steenkamp went on to indicate: "It is obviously a massive issue, if we look at what's happening on the West Rand, the East Rand and elsewhere – it's still something that needs a real attention from government, the police and the judicial system. But I think we have a nice blueprint in the Free State of how to handle it. And we need somebody to take that blueprint and try to apply it somewhere else." The group has closed no fewer than 50 holes in the ground, with the only access to operations through its own shaft systems. State-of-the-art control systems are effective in ensuring illegal miners are kept out. Steenkamp noted: “Since we've done that in the Free State, the illegal mining issue kind of moved away from the Free State to other parts of the country.”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24 (subscriber access only)

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