JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold mining company Harmony Gold has awarded 32 bursaries to university and technikon students for the current academic year.
The bursaries cover various areas of study including noncore and core disciplines. Sixty-one per cent of those who received bursaries fall into the core category, which includes mining, engineering and ore reserve management, while the remaining 39% are in noncore 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, the number of women who have been awarded bursaries is higher than that of men. This year, 17 women and 15 men are the chosen beneficiaries. The Free State, as Harmony’s 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 Harmony’s mining operations.
An additional ten bursaries, valued at R40 000 each, will be presented by Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp to students residing in the Matjhabeng community.
Steenkamp noted that education had always been a priority to Harmony. “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 reflect this.”