Harmony Gold Digging World’s Third-Richest Mine Emerges as Takeover Target
BLOOMBERG Harmony Gold Mining Co.’s Papua New Guinea mine is shaping up to be the world’s third-richest gold and copper deposit, raising speculation its partner in the venture, Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM) , may make a takeover bid. “I understand they’ve tried to buy it off Harmony and Harmony is obviously not selling it,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.8 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd., including shares in Melbourne-based Newcrest. “One option for them is to buy Harmony out completely and then spin out all of the other assets.” The partners are set to give an update as early as July on the potential size of the Wafi-Golpu deposit, which they’ve compared with Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.’s Grasberg mine, site of the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest single gold reserve. Harmony shares rose to the highest in more than two years in April as optimism for the project triggered takeover speculation. “Every major copper compa