Harmony Gold agrees to buy Australian Mac Copper for R18bn
Harmony Gold, South Africa's top gold producer by volume, has agreed to buy Australian miner Mac Copper in a deal worth $1.03bn (R18.42bn) as it steps up a diversification into copper.
Johannesburg-based Harmony said it is offering $12.25 (R219.18) per Mac Copper share in the cash deal, a 20.7% premium to the stock's closing price in New York on Friday. Mac Copper said its board unanimously backs the offer.
The Australian company's CSA Copper mine in New South Wales produced 41,000 tonnes of the metal last year and Harmony said buying a producing mine brings immediate cash returns.
The acquisition will be financed with internal cash reserves and a $1.25bn (R22.36bn) loan facility, Harmony said.
Harmony's shares fell 6.3% in early morning trade in Johannesburg.
It is Harmony's second acquisition of copper assets in Australia after it bought the Eva Copper project in Queensland, in 2022, a mine that could produce 55,000-60,000 tonnes of metal a year from 2029.
Harmony has also explored over the years options to develop Wafi-Golpu, a gold-copper project in Papua New Guinea it jointly owns with Newmont Corp.
South African mining companies including Gold Fields are increasingly looking elsewhere for assets as domestic operations become more costly due to the geological challenges presented by some of the world's deepest gold mines.
Harmony said it will build on its experience in underground mining in South Africa to boost Mac Copper's CSA mine.
The deal is a significant step towards Harmony growing into a global gold and copper producer, CEO Beyers Nel said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
3 hours ago
- eNCA
TotalEnergies in landmark greenwashing trial in France
Environmental groups took TotalEnergies to court Thursday in a landmark Paris trial, accusing the French oil and gas giant of misleading consumers with ads that overstate its climate commitments and fossil fuel transition. It is the first such case in France targeting a major energy company and could set a legal precedent for corporate environmental advertising, which is starting to face tighter regulations in the European Union. The civil case stems from a March 2022 lawsuit by three environmental groups accusing TotalEnergies of "misleading commercial practices" for saying it could reach carbon neutrality while continuing oil and gas production. The plaintiffs took that legal route as "greenwashing", or the act of claiming to be more environmentally responsible than in reality, is not specifically covered under French law. Starting in May 2021, TotalEnergies advertised its goal of "carbon neutrality by 2050" and touted gas as "the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions". At the time, the company had changed its name from Total to TotalEnergies to emphasise its investments in wind turbines and solar panels for electricity production. The plaintiffs allege that TotalEnergies made around 40 "false advertisements" in their lawsuit. "For the average consumer, it is impossible to understand that TotalEnergies is actually expanding fossil fuel production," said Clementine Baldon, a lawyer for the NGOs. The company's strategy "will not help the energy transition", Baldon told the court. "It delays it, even prevents it, and it contributes to putting the objectives of the Paris accord at risk," she added, referring to the international agreement aimed at curbing climate change. TotalEnergies maintains it has not engaged in misleading commercial practices. Moreover, it insists that the messages are part of its institutional communications regulated by financial authorities and not consumer law. It has also argued the NGOs are misusing consumer protection rules to challenge its corporate strategy, and that no consumer organisation is party to the case. The NGOs said the Paris court will rule on the legality of ads presenting natural gas as essential to the energy transition. Climate experts say methane leaks from the gas industry have a powerful warming effect on the atmosphere. - Correcting ads - Environmental groups in recent years have turned to the courts to establish case law on companies misleading consumers by appearing more eco-friendly than they are. In Europe, courts ruled against Dutch airline KLM in 2024 and Germany's Lufthansa in March over misleading consumers about their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying. In Spain, utility Iberdrola failed to secure a conviction against Spanish oil and gas company Repsol over similar allegations of "false" environmental claims. A greenwashing case against Australian oil and gas producer Santos, challenging its claim to be a "clean fuels" company, has been ongoing since 2021. Other fossil fuel companies, under pressure from advertising regulators or legal complains, have had to scrap or correct ad campaigns. Shell, for example, received a warning in the UK and had to stop promoting "carbon-neutral" gasoline in several countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. New European laws now ban vague, generic environmental claims such as "green" or "100 percent natural" product, and aim to require brands to more strictly substantiate environmental claims on labels and in advertising. TotalEnergies has said it plans to show that its messages "about its name change, strategy and role in the energy transition are reliable and based on objective, verifiable data". By Nathalie Alonso And Ivan Couronne
The Herald
13 hours ago
- The Herald
Worker killed at Harmony's Joel mine in the Free State
A worker was killed in a fall of ground accident at Harmony Gold's Joel mine in Free State on Wednesday. The company said all relevant authorities, family members and colleagues had been informed. It said it was devastated by another loss of life. 'Our safety strategy and culture include both systemic and humanistic factors and controls. These controls are designed to avoid incidents, protect our employees and have to be adhered to at all times. No working area will be accessed unless it has been declared safe,' said Beyers Nel, Harmony CEO. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said this was the 11th fatality at Harmony this year, bringing the total fatalities in the South African mining industry to 25. 'Eleven fatalities point directly to the company's failure to provide conditions that are safe for the operation to take place,' Amcu said. The union added that if Harmony dodges analysing organisational failures and blames the deaths on the behaviour of employees, it is likely they will experience more injuries and disasters. Harmony said Thursday has been declared a day of safety across all Harmony's South African operations to engage with the company's employees and stakeholders and to reflect on the company's safety practices at each of its mines. 'Our day of safety is not simply a pause, it is a call to action,' said Nel. TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
Worker killed at Harmony's Joel mine in the Free State
A worker was killed in a fall of ground accident at Harmony Gold's Joel mine in Free State on Wednesday. The company said all relevant authorities, family members and colleagues had been informed. It said it was devastated by another loss of life. 'Our safety strategy and culture include both systemic and humanistic factors and controls. These controls are designed to avoid incidents, protect our employees and have to be adhered to at all times. No working area will be accessed unless it has been declared safe,' said Beyers Nel, Harmony CEO. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said this was the 11th fatality at Harmony this year, bringing the total fatalities in the South African mining industry to 25. 'Eleven fatalities point directly to the company's failure to provide conditions that are safe for the operation to take place,' Amcu said. The union added that if Harmony dodges analysing organisational failures and blames the deaths on the behaviour of employees, it is likely they will experience more injuries and disasters. Harmony said Thursday has been declared a day of safety across all Harmony's South African operations to engage with the company's employees and stakeholders and to reflect on the company's safety practices at each of its mines. 'Our day of safety is not simply a pause, it is a call to action,' said Nel.
