Harmony Gold Mining : awards bursaries to 32 university and technikon students

Welkom: Friday, 20 January 2017. Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) is pleased to announce that it has awarded 32 bursaries to university and technikon students for the 2017 academic year.

The bursaries cover various areas of study including non-core and core disciplines such as mining, engineering and ore reserve management. Of these, 61% of the students fall into this core category while the remaining 39% in non-core disciplines. A total of 19 bursaries are for students who will be undertaking their first year of study, while the rest are in their second, third and fourth years of study.

For the first time in five years, and in recognition of Harmony's commitment to empowering and supporting women in the mining workplace, the number of young women who have been awarded bursaries is higher than that of men. This year, 17 young women and 15 men are the chosen beneficiaries. The Free State, as our host community, remains a key focus area. Over the past five years, 175 (or 70%) of the bursary recipients have come from the communities in and around our mining operations.

Furthermore, in a new initiative by the chief executive officer, an additional 10 bursaries valued at R40 000 each are to be awarded for the 2017 academic year. Qualifying students must reside in the Matjhabeng community.

Harmony places a high degree of importance on education and training. To borrow from President Nelson Mandela's words, the company believes that 'education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world'. In staying true to this premise, Harmony has contributed over R149 million towards this critical area over the past five years.

Speaking at the handover ceremony today, Peter Steenkamp, Harmony chief executive officer, said; 'Education has always been close to our hearts. This is part of our vision to change lives on a long-term sustainable basis. We are deeply committed to investing in the future of the country and Harmony's bursaries are a reflection of this.'

For more details contact:

Marian van der Walt
Executive: Corporate and Investor Relations
+27 (0) 82 888 1242 (mobile)