A safe, profitable and long-term future at Kusasalethu

On 23 February 2010, after more than 30 years of production, Harmony's Kusasalethu mine shifted its attention to the future, to the almost 30 years remaining of its life of mine, and changed its name accordingly to Kusasalethu, a Zulu word meaning 'our future'.

A valuable resource within Harmony, Kusasalethu is located near the town of Carletonville in South Africa's North West Province and employs more than 5 000 people, representing the full spectrum of southern Africa's rich and varied cultural groups.

In August 2008, Kusasalethu, in close collaboration with the mine's three recognised unions, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), UASA and Solidarity, embarked upon a safety awareness campaign: Qaphelangozi – `be aware of danger´. The nine-step programme was aimed at fundamentally changing the safety habits of both management and employees. Emphasis was placed on adherence to mine safety standards and all participants were taught to deal proactively and reactively with hazards in the workplace.

The programme saw clear results in the 2010 financial year with the mine's lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) improving from 12.62 per million hours worked in FY09 to 6.85 in FY10, and the serious injury frequency rate (SIFR) declining to 4.23 in FY10 from 6.86 in the previous year.

The announcement, during the course of the 2010 financial year, that Kusasalethu's remaining life of mine was estimated at an impressive 27 years, taking continued operations to the year 2037, was a further instigating factor behind the cultural shift taking place at the mine. As a means of entrenching Kusasalethu's long life and its renewed focus on improved safety and production, a new identity for the mine was thus created and was embodied in a new name.

All employees were encouraged to be a part of and contribute to the cultural shift at Kusasalethu and management invited everyone to suggest potential new names for the mine. Hundreds were received, from which a shortlist of four possible names was created upon which employees then voted. Overwhelming support was received for the name Kusasalethu, a word which literally translated means `our future´, but which has connotations of promise and reward.

Theo Keyter, General Manager of Kusasalethu, is pleased with the reception the mine's new identity and name have received: “Kusasalethu's management and employees have united behind the mine's focus on safety and are grateful for the job security offered by its considerable life of mine. We look forward to the success that lies in our future, Kusasalethu, a safe, profitable and long-life mine filled with opportunity”.

By 2013, Kusasalethu's new mine, the development of which began in 2004, will be in full production. And with production expected to average 285 949 ounces per annum from 2013 to 2035, Kusasalethu is set to be the largest gold producer within the Harmony stable in the years ahead.