Harmony Gold is to mount worldwide platinum exploration this year, with more than $8 million being made available for extensive work.

According to exploration executive Dr Vaughan Armstrong, development of the Kalplats platinum project will be conducted later in the year, with more than R20 million boosting projects across the world.

The Kalplats platinum project, which was discovered two years ago, is currently in the full feasibility study stage, and is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

In an interview with Mining Weekly Dr Armstrong explained that development of its platinum interests would be a significant part of the company's global strategy for the rest of the year.

'Harmony's exploration activities have increased marginally in recent years and we anticipate the generation of several new exploration projects during the course of this year,' he said.

Dr Armstrong also said that he expected similar levels of investment from mining companies throughout the industry.

'The exploration industry worldwide is picking up, and increased levels of expenditure will be seen overall in the next few years,' he commented.