(Ecofin Agency) - South African miner Harmony Gold said it has successfully produced the 1.1 million ounces target it set for the year ended in June 2016. However, the Johannesburg-listed firm did not disclose details of its overall production, as review is planned for August 17, 2016.

The firm also said that the significant price increase of gold as well as its volatility helped 20% of its gold sales go for an average R682,000/kg. In the meantime, it added that it signed short-term sales contracts to insure a certain level of certainty regarding treasury fluxes. It thus sold 423,000 oz of gold over 24 months, representing 20% of its total output over the period.

“I am extremely pleased with Harmony’s performance. Harmony is well positioned to benefit from a strong rand/kg gold price. We remain positive on the strength of the gold price, with cash certainty being key in times of extreme gold price volatility,” said CEO Peter Steenkamp.

In its latest quarterly report, Harmony Gold revealed a 35% decrease in its debt compared to the previous quarter (Q2 2016) of R2.5bn ($171,800,000). The debt was estimated at R1.7bn ($116,824,000) at the end of Q3 2016.

Harmony Gold is South Africa’s third largest gold producer and fifth largest in the world.

Louis-Nino Kansoun