Good afternoon, and thanks everyone for joining us this afternoon after the announcement of our acquisition. My name is Jared Coetzer, Head of our Investor Relations for Harmony. I'm here with our CEO, Peter Steenkamp, Mashego Mashego, Group Executive of Corporate Affairs, Herman Perry, Group Treasurer, Marian van der Walt, Senior Group Executive. I've got Johannes van Heerden, our Southeast Asia CEO and Head of New Business, as well as Greg Job, GM for Growth and Resource Development on the line. I'm gonna hand over now to Peter Steenkamp for an introduction, and then we will go through the presentation with you. Please feel free to direct your questions over the webcast. Unfortunately, we can't take calls, but I will certainly address your questions as they come through on the webcast. Thank you very much.
Over to you, Peter.
Thank you, Jared, and thank you everybody for joining us this afternoon. It's afternoon in South Africa. I'm not sure what time zone you are on at, but welcome and really, really appreciate you taking such a short notice time to have this discussion. The last time we spoke was when Harmony released its annual results for the financial year of 2022. At the time, we emphasized a lot about our equity story in four parts, which is our high-grade underground assets. Those underground assets optimized for cash generation, our high-margin South African surface business, and then our international business currently in PNG with the plans to expand. Today's marks the next step in our growth journey.
One that creates long-term value for all our shareholders and stakeholders by introducing new term copper production in a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction. I will ask Johannes van Heerden, our CEO of Southeast Asia, but also executive in charge of new business and strategy, to take us through the rationale for the acquisition and also, you know, because he was actually working very closely with, you know, bringing this acquisition to the fore. Johannes, over to you.
Thanks, Peter, and good day, everyone. As Peter said, we have communicated to the market consistently our desire to grow and to grow into copper and copper-gold acquisitions, targeting areas within which we've got an operating hub. You'll see when we demonstrate the benefits of what Eva Copper Project will bring to our portfolio, there's some significant boxes that it ticked. It brings near-term copper production to our profile. It's located in a tier one jurisdiction. If you look at that map on the right-hand side of the slide, you'll see it's basically located in northern Queensland, a premier base metal district. It's not just a project that we're buying, but we're actually buying into a region and into a potential province that could support long-term production.
In terms of some of the metrics that's important to us, we believe it will add between 10%-15% more to our production profile in gold and gold equivalents. It's got a good position on the cash cost curve, and for an asset of this size, it's got a very decent mine life. A 15-year mine life for these opportunities actually will stand us in good stead, and we believe that we will be able to extend that mine life through growth potential in this very mineral-rich mining jurisdiction. Also, copper is a future-facing metal, and we believe that there's been some significant tailwinds as it relates to the potential for copper demand going forward. Next slide, please. As I mentioned, copper has got a significant demand profile ahead of it.
As you would see in this slide, where they demonstrate, and this is a Wood Mackenzie slide, where they demonstrate the total copper consumption, the top graph on the right-hand side, over the coming years. You could see that there's a significant compound annual growth, which will be driven by electric network, as a key component. All of these renewables that's currently being put on the grid would require a significant network to facilitate that. Then also, if you look at the bottom graph, you could see some of the key demand drivers. Electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is a key component of this.
You would have noted recently a lot of countries in the world are articulating views of when they want to get to the point where electric vehicles make up the majority of their fleets, as well as transitioning to renewable energy, whether it's solar or wind power. Now, both solar and wind power as well as electric vehicles, the copper intensity of that is significant. We've got a very strong view that the copper demand will keep on growing and that copper demand and growth profile in demand would support strong copper prices going into the future. Next slide. In terms of this project, when we were looking around at opportunities in the world, there's actually very few assets or potential projects or regions of significant size available that's not held by the large market cap companies.
You'll see on this slide, it basically demonstrates the position of this project on the cash cost curve, the C1 curve. As well as the size of this project in comparison to some of the other opportunities that's out there, and that's not being held by majors. What we believe this project and opportunity presents is, it's a sizable production profile in a very good jurisdiction, and it's actually well-positioned on the cash cost curve. We believe that those attributes, which will allow us to bring it forward in terms of near-term production, it's an open pit mine in a tier one mining jurisdiction, will stand us in good stead. Next slide. In terms of the financing, when we applied our mind to this opportunity, that was a key consideration.
The acquisition will be funded from our existing cash resources as well as our available debt facilities. Our net debt to EBITDA ratio will remain very manageable in terms of progressing the development of this asset. As you all would realize, I mean, as articulated at our financial year-end results, we've got a very strong balance sheet, and we will deploy this to actually pursue this growth opportunity. In terms of the offer, we're paying $170 million in cash with a future contingent payment of up to a maximum of $60 million. That $60 million is broken down into $30 million, which is a price participation mechanism, which allows the seller to participate 10% of the revenue above $3.80 per pound, up to a maximum of $30 million.
In addition, because this is such a prospective region, there's also a contingent exploration discovery payment of up to $30 million. Once again, that is in terms of new resources declared and discovered with a multiple applied of 3 cents per pound of copper. In terms of the timing of this proposed capital, we will undertake a study update. Currently, there is a feasibility study underway, so we will complete that. As part of that work, we will be exploring financing options for this opportunity. In terms of the photo below, you'll see we did an extensive due diligence. You can see the terrain within which we propose to develop this mine. On the right-hand side, you can see the process plant, the Little Eva pit, as well as the TSF locations.
On the left-hand side, approximately 11 kilometers away is MMG's Dugald River operation. You'll see when we talk about the detail of this slide, there's actually quite a few mines proximate to this opportunity. There's a lot of regional infrastructure in place. Next slide. As I noted, in terms of the map on the right-hand side, there's quite a few regional mines to this project. You'll see what we highlight there is basically the tenement map. Little Eva at the top end of the prospect, the mining lease there, the location of some of the infrastructure, and then also the regional tenement holding. In terms of this region and this province, it's mostly iron oxide, copper, gold style mineralization. There's significant copper, gold opportunities within this package.
This area or region has basically been explored and developed since 1860. It's very tightly held, the exploration area. This was a key focus for us to make sure that we actually, as part of this acquisition, don't just focus on the project, but on the whole region in terms of prospectivity. In terms of the mine itself, it's a very simple open pit mining operation. We will mine 7 pits as part of this project plan, a very low strip ratio. The process plant is a conventional process plant, flow sheet 11.4 million tons per annum, which will allow us to basically make sure that we can maximize the opportunity that's presented. As I noted previously, we do believe that there's significant opportunities in this tenement package to extend mine life.
As noted, it'll produce 45,000 tons of copper per year for 15 years, which is approximately 220,000 kilo ounces of gold, and at a very attractive cash cost curve. In terms of some of the ESG credentials, we do believe that there's opportunities to use renewable power. Currently, the power is anticipated to be gas power, supplying to the mine from regional infrastructure. In terms of the tailings storage facility, it would be designed to ANCOLD standards. Next slide. In terms of the strategic rationale, you'll see there's quite a few things that we've taken into account. I mean, Australia is a Tier 1 jurisdiction, so we do see that a permitted project within this area will stand us in good stead in terms of our risk profile in the group.
We have articulated our desire to grow in copper and gold. I mean, this project opportunity does have a very high-quality concentrate, which we will be able to deliver to regional smelters. In terms of the production profile and margin, it ticks all our boxes from a size as well as a longevity perspective, and it does come with quite a significant growth upside. In terms of capital intensity, we did look at financing opportunities, which opportunities we'll be pursuing as part of the completion of our study process. It's a key element that we're applying our minds to. We do believe that with this quality project in this region, that there would be a multitude of financing opportunities available to pursue.
As I mentioned, in terms of risk, it's a very simple mining process, conventional open pit mining, a very conventional flow sheet, and it comes with the benefit of therefore being inherently safe. Next slide. What we always said is our acquisitions need to be value accretive as well as improving quality of our portfolio. We're very disciplined in what we consider and how we approach our business development opportunities. You can see it basically focuses on capital prioritization. Safety is our number one priority. Huge amount of focus on that. We're looking at organic growth as well as opportunities outside the portfolio and comparing those in terms of key metrics. You'll see some of these elements that is considered the risk profile.
I mean, obviously from a margin perspective, it needs to improve the quality of our portfolio. It needs to improve the margin. It needs to generate a consistent return. also in terms of our production profile, there's a minimum requirement which we want opportunities to meet. We've applied our mind for this opportunity, I mean, both from a project as well as from a regional perspective. We believe that this ticks all of these investment requirements. It will allow us to grow, it will allow us to continue to reward our shareholders, and it will take place within a balance sheet that is able to assist in the development of this. Next slide. In terms of our capital profile, we've previously articulated some of the key initiatives that we're currently pursuing.
Obviously, two of the major ones is the Mine Waste Solutions capital program, the surface sources, and then also a longer term one is the Zaaiplaats underground project, high margin underground project in South Africa. We will do our study update in terms of this Eva Copper project. We will then basically take it to our board for consideration in terms of capital allocation priorities. We do believe that this actually fits very nicely in our capital profile. As the one project comes to an end, we'll be able to slot this in. Ultimately, all of these projects will improve the quality and the margin of our portfolio and allow us to pursue the development of Wafi-Golpu, which is our Tier 1 copper-gold asset in Papua New Guinea. Next slide.
Just basically in summary, we have said we have growth ambitions. We've told the market that we're looking at copper and gold opportunities. In pursuit of that, we've demonstrated that we're disciplined in our approach as it relates to that, whether it's optimizing our underground portfolio in South Africa, growing our surface high-margin opportunities, as well as our international opportunities, in addition to our South African underground high-grade opportunities. This opportunity fits well into our communicated strategy, is consistent with that. We believe it will demonstrate a clear margin improvement, quality improvement, as well as risk diversification for our investors and allow us to therefore reward them by pursuing this. Next slide. Peter, over to you.
Thank you, Johannes, and thank you for your presentation today. We have the questions, and, Jared, I think I'll ask you just maybe just if you can bring the questions forward, and then we can, between the team of us, try and answer the questions that we have.
Okay, great. No, thanks, Peter, and thanks, Johannes. I'm just gonna read the questions. I've got quite a few that have come through. I'm going to start with Adrian Hammond from SBG Securities with your questions. His first question is, will Harmony consider raising equity to fund project CapEx? If not, what options do you have that will not overextend your balance sheets? How soon could Eva reach first production, and how will this acquisition impact dividends? Have you put gold for now on the back burner for good?
I'll answer the second part of that. Adrian, we are a gold mining company, and we'll probably be a gold mining company for numbers of years. We also would like to be a copper mining company. Gold and copper, we believe, is hand in hand. I'll ask Herman maybe just to talk a bit about you know, the potential financing and everything like that.
Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for the question, Adrian. Yes, Adrian, there's a number of things we can look at, but do let us remember that we've just taken over this asset, so we will review the study that has been done on it, and we will optimize that in terms of the capital process. You know, before we go into that. Once we've done that, we will determine what the optimal capital, the funding mechanism is for this. However.
You know, firstly, you know, we've mentioned that this dovetails well with our own capital profile. As we have it, we have a higher capital profile in the next two years, which drops off, so internally generated cash can play a key part. Then, at the asset level, being located where reduced project finance can also play quite a significant role. Then on top of that then we can look at any other, you know, many, many options that is available to us at a corporate level. We don't wanna say too much about which ones we will consider, but we will do something that's optimal for the assets and optimal for shareholders. So.
Maybe just one thing to add to that, Herman, is that this is actually a very, very short period. I mean, the whole ordeal is two years.
Mm-hmm.
Certainly, you know, and I think also a lot of, you know, kind of project certainty in terms of being an open cast mine, low strip ratio, those type of things. It's not as if we have to lock in capital for a number of years to come. Thanks, Herman, to answer the question.
Yeah. Yeah, thanks. Just on that, Peter, I mean, Adrian's next question which came was, has Harmony ever built a mine like this, and how will we manage that risk? Maybe just something in terms of for developing a copper mine, shifting from gold to copper.
Yeah.
Maybe I can help on that one, Peter. Maybe just the other question, in terms of this, I mean, you also asked the question about Wafi-Golpu, Adrian. I mean, we do see that, you know, Wafi-Golpu has got a development timeline that will progress post-permitting. There's a lot of very constructive conversations going on with the government after the elections. We do want to progress this. As Herman said, we do see that this opportunity fits nicely in that timeline, and it should be up and producing by the time of the significant capital burn in Wafi-Golpu. In terms of project skills, I mean, we do have quite a few people that's been part of our Hidden Valley development and recapitalization story.
If you look at that photo that we showed up earlier in the presentation, you can see this terrain is very simple compared to some of the challenges that we faced as a team in Hidden Valley. We've got a lot of technical skills that we think we can deploy there really well. In addition, we do have some of the key members of the project team that developed the Wafi-Golpu project update and feasibility study to a very high quality within Harmony. Suffice to say, even the project director that actually led that process is a Harmony employee. We do believe that we actually have adequate skills in-house to progress this development and to supervise this development.
In addition, there is Copper Mountain employees that will be joining the team that has been involved in the study update. We do actually have access to quite a lot of skills in-house. The other benefit of this is it is in a, call it, a mining region, which people are very familiar and comfortable with. We do believe that this project will actually attract quality people and skills, whether it's from a contractor perspective or whether employee perspective. We think we're actually well-positioned in that. Thanks.
All right. Thanks, Johannes. Thanks, Peter. The next question I've got is from Arnold Van Graan, Nedbank. How comfortable are we with the initial project metrics like the CapEx, the timelines, the cost? We've often seen metrics deteriorate when new owners run through the numbers in more detail. Is this not a risk?
Johannes, maybe can I ask you maybe just to maybe comment on, 'cause you guys were so closely involved with the due diligence?
Thanks, Peter. Yes. Arnold, you're 100% right. I mean, we definitely will make sure that when we present the study outcome and we update the market, it will be based on, you know, work to a quality and a level that we are comfortable with. That's why in terms of process, we actually have allowed a period for us to update this study outcomes to make sure that we are happy with what's being proposed in terms of some of the technical elements, as well as then in terms of some of the capital estimates that's related to that. We will make sure that we don't rush into anything. We will consider it diligently. I mean, we've got a lot of operational background and history in this regional office.
We will deploy and apply that to make sure that when we propose something to our board for consideration, that it's a robust project which is sufficiently de-risked. Thanks, Peter.
All right. No, thanks, Johannes. Next question is from Mark du Toit at OysterCatcher Investments. Why did Copper Mountain Mining Corporation sell the projects, not develop it themselves? And, what is our expected payback period on the acquisition?
Johannes, again, I'm gonna ask you to answer that because
Yep. No problem, Peter. Copper Mountain, if for those of you that go look at their website, you'll see they've got an asset in British Columbia, which has got significant expansion potential. They are focusing their attention on that, and they want to grow and expand within that region. In terms of that, their capacity to grow is constrained from a funding perspective, and this is why they are focusing their energy on that operating mine that they've got. You'll note that in terms of their press release, they do see this disposal as actually supporting them in that growth ambition there. That's the reason why they exited very reluctantly, I must say. It was a very robust conversation to conclude this process.
Both parties I think eventually felt that, you know, it was appropriate in terms of way forward.
All right. Thanks, Johannes. I've got a couple questions on CapEx, so I'm gonna try to group them together. I think let's start with Patrick Mann's question from Bank of America, just questioning the risk that in this inflationary environment, the current feasibility study estimated CapEx of around $600 million and an NPV of $622 million. In this environment, is there a risk that all the NPV is absorbed by higher CapEx? That's the one question. Just to follow up on that, Herbert Karalus from Investec has asked about the CapEx guidance changes for the next three years, from FY 2023, 2024 and 2025. I think it's just assuming the purchase price will fall into this financial year and then what happens thereafter. Jared Hoover's got a question.
Because of the large CapEx bill expected between FY23 and 2027, will this impact our hedging strategy and will we change our hedging limits to limit or reduce any balance sheet risk?
I'll let Herman start with some of it, and maybe Johannes just add to some of the things that. I think, Herman, you probably can cover most of those.
Yeah, no, I mean, I think we are cool with our hedging strategy, and we'll probably keep it the same and, you know, if anything, apply it similarly. Remember that our hedging strategy is relatively short-term, so we will not do any hedging until we, you know, have a good line of sight. This project has a 2-3-year build period, so we, you know, we will only really look at that when we get there. So we don't see a change in our hedging strategy.
Understood.
This stage.
Yeah.
Maybe then just in terms of some of the capital estimates and also, you know, in terms of the previous question from a study perspective, as I said, we've allowed enough time for us to make sure that we thoroughly review what's being proposed. We are aware that this is an inflationary environment. We have taken it into account in our investment decision. We will firm up these capital estimates as part of our study update and then communicate it to the market accordingly. Those numbers that you quoted in terms of NPV and IRR are historical numbers that Copper Mountain released. I mean, that's based on a set of assumptions that they used. I mean, what we will do as Harmony, we will use our own commodity and exchange rate assumptions and also make sure that we scrutinize the capital and operating costs.
What we will present to the market and to our board would be a thorough review of all of those elements, and it would basically be, as I noted previously, a conservative benchmark against what may have been previously put out in the market. Thanks.
Johannes, maybe just while we're on this, you could just touch on the timelines. I know we did speak about it in the presentation, but I've seen a couple of questions coming through again. In terms of, you know, two to three-year construction period, given the next steps, our planning process, approvals, construction, just what we would expect in terms of commissioning the mine and when we would expect the first production to take place.
I mean, a few elements in that, Jared. Firstly, what we're saying is we're allowing ourselves up to 12 months to complete and review the study. The reason for that is there are some significant elements that we want to make sure we apply our minds to. Also then in terms of, you know, the market, as was highlighted in some of the questions, the market is currently running very hot in terms of some of these inflationary pressures. We are seeing that it's starting to slow in some areas. We want to make sure that when we take something to our board for consideration, that it is actually appropriate and that we want to execute a project in the right environment. That's why we've allowed this 12 months.
For us to finalize that work, go to our board and present it as an opportunity. Then it would be for the board to allocate capital in terms of our allocation priorities, in terms of which project they would want to support. In terms of project construction, as Peter noted, it's a relatively short construction period. I mean, it's supported by very good regional infrastructure, whether it's road, rail, water, or electricity. So that de-risks the project. As I said, in terms of location and skills, it's also de-risked. I mean, Queensland is a good destination for fly-in, fly-out workers. We believe that, you know, all of those elements will actually contribute to allowing us to build this project quite quickly.
What that will allow us to do is, as Herman pointed out, consider various financing options and then also basically support our capital program going forward in terms of converting very quickly into strong operating cash flows.
Thanks, Johannes van Heerden. Another question from Patrick Mann, Bank of America, as well as Arnold Van Graan, just in terms of the construction of this project. I'm just asking who's going to build it. I mean, given that our most of our skills typically USA focused, we've obviously got the PNG operations with the Brisbane office. Will this be contract mining or will you operate the mine with Harmony employees?
There's quite a number of elements to be considered in this study update. Once again, there is currently not an EPCM contractor appointed in terms of construction. We will have to consider our construction methodology. Once again, we have experience in that, both from the Hidden Valley construction process and some of our key members of the team here were part of that process. We've got good experience in terms of that. In terms of some of our opportunities, we will do the various trade-off studies in between contract mining, potentially, you know, acquiring the mining fleet ourselves. I mean, various financing options we'll be exploring around that, and then also employees in terms of that. We are currently not ruling anything out or in.
These are some of the opportunities we will be pursuing as part of our study update and optimizing the current work that's in progress.
Great. Thanks, Johannes. A question from Cath Cunningham, JP Morgan. Could we clarify what an environmental authority granted means? Is there an environmental permit? What is the heritage status of the project, the original landowner status? Harmony is undertaking a review of the feasibility study. At this stage, do you foresee any upside risks to CapEx?
Once again, quite a number of questions in there. Maybe just from a ESG perspective. Once again, all the various permits in terms of that has been pursued and granted. There is one amendment that's still underway in terms of some of the project layout. In most, the various environmental approvals are in place. In terms of the First Nations status, I mean, there is an agreement in place. They have been thoroughly consulted as part of this permitting process. They will be granted opportunities in terms of this mine development. That has been. That box has been ticked.
As you noted, in terms of the capital, we will be applying our minds and, you know, making sure that when we present something to our board and to the market, that the capital estimate would be robust and take into account the operating environment.
Yeah. If I may add, it's Marian here. We should also remember that because it's a copper asset, because it takes into account all of the ESG requirements, and we believe it will promote our ESG credentials as well as our commitment to responsible stewardship, I do believe, or we do believe that this project would potentially attract debt capital. So will be quite attractive for the markets, financial markets to get involved in.
Thanks, Sarah. Next question.
Thanks, Marian.
Thanks for the reading.
Oh, yeah. No problem.
Next question I've got from Shah Weeds, Avior Capital, [Sohail Pasha] maybe for you, Herman. At what gold price does our statement about gearing remaining below one times net debt to EBITDA not hold anymore?
Yeah. I don't think we link it directly to a gold price. In response to changes in the gold price, we will come, go back and manage our business. You know, we will then adjust the business and make sure we maintain sufficient cash flow margin.
Thanks, Herman. From John Aaron, Aluwani. In terms of jurisdictional risk, we talk about a low-risk jurisdiction. How comfortable are we, given the increase in royalties imposed by Queensland?
Yeah. You know, John, that's an interesting question. The royalties referred to there is what was imposed by the Queensland Government on the coal mining industry, current year. Basically in terms of some of these very high coal prices being achieved. The Queensland Government basically said they want to deploy the benefits of that, some of that to the regions. They recognize that coal mining is an industry with a limited future, and therefore they wanted to make sure that they set up call it a just transition, using a South African term, in terms of renewables. That was imposed. They didn't impose it on any in terms of copper or gold, so that was a specific element to a specific industry.
All right. Thanks, Johannes. Got a question from Peter Cromberge at Liberum Markets. Does this now mean that Harmony will look at gold acquisitions in Australia? How much of the Eva acquisition will be funded through cash and how much through borrowings?
I'll let Johannes answer the first part. On the second part, I mean, we said we're gonna fund the acquisition component with cash and available facilities. We do have a good amount of headroom, so we will first look to use that, and then we will look at other funding. Johannes can answer the other part there.
Okay. Thanks, Herman.
Thanks, Herman. Basically, in terms of acquisitions, once again, we've actually articulated our strategy very clearly. We're looking at opportunities in South Africa, in Africa, and then in Southeast Asia around our operating hubs. In terms of metals, we're basically looking at opportunities, whether it's gold, copper, or copper and gold associated. In terms of that, we've never said that we won't look at gold opportunities in Australia. Having said that, we do need to make sure that it meets our focus and once again, that it's margin enhancing and value accretive. We remain very disciplined in what we look at, how we look at it, and then consider it in terms of our filters to make sure that it achieves the specific goal, hurdle rates that we've got in mind. Thanks, John.
Thanks, Johannes. Arnold's got another question here. Arnold, in terms of. I think he's trying to put the pieces together. Says something doesn't make sense. We're paying ZAR 3 billion for an asset which could then take to the board to consider as an opportunity. Taking into account the capital needs across the group, could we end up in a situation where the project is a non-starter when it comes to that point?
Maybe I can quickly answer that. Arnold, that will probably be very unlikely, given the, you know, just the kind of profitability of this or actually the value of this kind of project. It's probably one of the projects that will get the nod ahead of anything else. So yes, but acquisition costs, if you look at the acquisition cost of that, it's fairly low. It is not, you know, per dollar, you know. So it's a fairly good, a good price that we paid. We know that, and I think many times in the past we said that, we most likely won't find another, you know, the type of acquisitions we've done with Moab and as in Kalgold. [Mponeng]
Anything that we buy going forward will probably be more market related. Even given that, I think we've actually got this thing at a price that we feel very comfortable with.
Arnold, if I can add, just to keep in mind that, yes, we bought the asset and then we need to develop it. That is true, but because it is a relatively short development, because it's a shallow ore body, you have two benefits. You know, the development cost is less, shorter, and then the ramp-up is fast. That makes it very fundable. Also sitting in the jurisdiction where it sits, it will diversify our commodity and our geographical profile. That adds a lot more funding options to us.
Thanks, Edwin. Just another question from Adrian Hammond on our dividend outlook. What's going to be the impact on dividends for this year and next year, given the capital expenditure?
Okay. Yeah. I mean, I think what we will do, the board will consider, you know, all the criteria at each half year and make a call. You know, I don't wanna make a forecast on that, but we have given, when we put out our policy, we've given the things that the board will consider, and we will, you know, the board will make their own decision at each point.
I just want to ask one more question, and then it's just from Jared Hoover at RMB. Just to what extent can the gold price fall before we need to further rationalize our assets? And does this acquisition imply a faster, you know, restructuring such as what happened at Sibanye-Stillwater? And what is driving the cheap purchase price other than being a development stage project? Do we expect any hidden risks?
I think first of all, I don't think it was cheap, but I think it was fair value. I'd rather use that word. But it was not. We didn't overextend ourselves in terms of buying this asset. We always have to. When gold price changes and especially when long-term gold prices change, we always have to have you know relook at our plans in terms of how we're gonna do it, where we're gonna allocate the sustaining CapEx. What projects will take preference to other projects, et cetera, et cetera. All of that will obviously be consistently being evaluated.
If you look at what we've done for the current year, and the prices that we've used for planning and the current realized prices, we are actually tracking in the black there, so we're quite happy where the current prices are at this point in time. Yes. I mean, we go through a very stringent look every year. We look at the strategic stage of the company. Every year look at the long-term planning. Every year looking at what are the projects that long-term make sense and need to be going at. We will continue doing that.
Thanks, Peter. We're almost done. In two minutes. One more question. In terms of buying development assets versus producing assets, I mean, to be honest, maybe you just wanna touch on that. I know Arnold has asked about, you know, why we chose to buy an asset that needed to be developed rather than something in production.
Yeah, I mean, maybe just to that question, you know, referring to that graph that I used to demonstrate the position of this asset on the cash cost curve. I mean, there isn't a lot of operating copper mines with this margin available for sale. And those that would be available for sale would be at very, very high premiums. This is why we actually saw this as a huge opportunity. As I noted in the presentation, it's got a sizable production profile. It's one of the larger ones sitting outside the majors, and it comes with a province. You can turn it into a province development where you can keep on enhancing the quality of this producer and add additional production to it.
In terms of that's why we pursued this, why we looked at it. I mean, obviously our first preference is always operating assets with immediate cash flow post-acquisition. We do have to temper that with what is available on the market. I mean, there isn't a lot of quality assets currently on the market, especially in the copper space. I mean, a lot of people have got very positive forward views on copper price and copper demand. We thought this is actually a great opportunity which can be supported by our operating hub, and that's why we pursued this.
All right. Great. I think we're done. Peter, I'll hand over to you to close. If there are any other questions or if there are any particular points which you need more detail on, please feel free to reach out to me and we'll get back to you immediately. Over to you, Peter. Thank you.
Yeah. I'd say first of all, again, I want to thank you all for being on the call. We really appreciate that. I know a lot of things are happening like the Joburg Indaba or other type of things that take people's minds off these type of things happening. Again, on short notice. I do believe that acquiring Eva Copper is strategically important to our growth journey. Eva Copper lowers our risks in providing additional scale and meaningful diversification that positions Harmony for the future, you know, as a more global type of company, but also in more than one commodity. Now we're looking forward to this journey, and we're also looking forward to taking you along with us on this journey.
I wish you all a very good afternoon and have a good day further on. Thank you very much.