JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) ­– Harmony Gold Mining Company on Monday, 21 September, announced the launch of an offering of $500-million guaranteed senior unsecured convertible bonds due in 2031, and the following day reported the offering's pricing.

The intended use of the net proceeds from the bond offering would be for general corporate purposes, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed gold and copper mining company stated in a stock exchange news service (SENS) announcement on Tuesday, 22 September.

"The offering reflects a proactive and disciplined approach to balance sheet management from a position of strength,” Harmony CEO Beyers Nel stated on SENS.

“It enhances funding efficiency, diversifies our capital sources and optimises our funding profile. Our capital programme remains fully funded, and we remain confident in Harmony's ability to continue creating long-term value for shareholders," Nel added.

Mining Weekly can report that Nel will be presenting at Mining Forum Americas on 28 September, where the company's strategy and progress on its gold and copper portfolio will be discussed.

Payments in respect of the bonds will be guaranteed by Harmony Gold (Australia), African Rainbow Minerals Gold, Avgold, Chemwes, Golden Core Trade and Invest, Freegold, Randfontein Estates, Harmony Copper, Harmony Moab Khotsong Operations, MAC Copper, Cobar Management, Metals Acquisition (Australia) and Eva Copper Mine.

The bonds will be issued at 100% of their principal amount, which is $200 000 per bond, and unless previously redeemed, converted or purchased and cancelled, the bonds will be redeemed at their principal amount on or around September 29, 2031.

The bonds will pay a coupon of 1.500% a year, semi-annually in arrear, in equal instalments on 29 March and 29 September of each year and for the first time on March 29, 2027.

The initial conversion price is R418.60, representing a premium of 40% above the reference share price, being the placement price per share determined in the concurrent offering of existing shares.

The conversion price will be subject to customary market-standard adjustments, including certain dividend protection provisions.

The bonds will be convertible into 19.4-million ordinary shares of the issuer, which represents 3% of issuer's current issued ordinary share capital.

Citigroup and JP Morgan acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners while Absa, FirstRand and Nedbank acted as co-lead managers.