| Tharisa, the mining, metals, and innovation company dual-listed on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, announces its production results for Q4 and financial year ended 20241 and cash balance as of the year-end. |
| Quarter and full-year highlights |
| · Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (‘LTIFR’) per 200 000 man hours worked of |
| o 0.00 at Tharisa Minerals |
| o 0.09 at Karo Platinum |
| · Annual output: |
| · PGM production for the year at 145.1 koz (FY2023: 144.7 koz) with Q4 at 37.1 koz (Q3 FY2024: 36.9 Koz) |
| Chrome production for the year at 1 702.6 kt (FY2023: 1 580.1 kt) with Q4 at 426.8 kt (Q3 FY2024 410.2 kt) |
| · Annual chrome production output highest in the history of the Company |
| · Average annual PGM price decrease of 28% to US$1 362/oz (FY2023: US$1 893/oz) averaging at US$1 370/oz for the quarter (Q3 FY2024: US$1 391/oz) |
| · Average annual metallurgical grade chrome concentrate prices are up 13.7% at US$299/t (FY2023: US$263/t) while averaging at US$314/t for the quarter (Q3 FY2024: US$309/t) |
| · Group cash on hand of US$217.5 million (30 June 2024: US$189.9 million), and debt of US$108.8 million (30 June 2024: US$97.7 million), resulting in an increased net cash position of US$108.7 million (30 June 2024: US$92.2 million) |
| · US$5 million share repurchase completed |
| · Successful delivery of beneficiation strategy with the production of chrome alloy and testing of upscaled batteries at Redox One |
| · Production guidance for FY2025 is set at between 140 koz and 160 koz PGMs (6E basis) and 1.65 Mt to 1.8 Mt of chrome concentrates |
| Key Operating Numbers |
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| Phoevos Pouroulis, CEO of Tharisa, commented: |
| “A scene-setting operational year underpinned by an excellent safety performance. With safety as a core value, we have seen the success of record chrome output supported by guidance meeting PGM production. |
| For the coming year, we are setting a similar target, with chrome dominating the operational forecast as we see real demand in China and beyond. |
| We have made great strides in furthering our technical study work on the underground development at the Tharisa Mine and I know this will be a welcome addition to our mining flexibility with the open pit operations being supported by the on-reef underground mine development. |
| Our continuing drive to benefit our product saw us successfully produce chrome alloy from a unique and proprietary process developed by our research and development business Arxo Metals and are selling this final alloy to commercial customers. |
| In our efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and secure energy independence, we entered into a 15-year agreement with Etana Energy, which will be providing up to 44% of the Tharisa Mine’s electricity demand via wheeled renewable energy. In addition, Redox One has upgraded its facilities for longer-duration testing by commissioning three new larger-scale batteries in line with the development plan. |
| We remain optimistic about the fundamentals of the PGM market and have thus continued to optimise our Karo Platinum project and have progressed with the plant construction, in line with capital availability, and we see this strategy continuing until we finalise the funding for the project. |
| I wish to wholeheartedly thank all our employees for their invaluable commitment over the past year.” |
| Health & Safety |
| · The health and safety of our stakeholders remain a core value to the Group and Tharisa continues to strive for zero harm in its operations |
| · LTIFR per 200 000 man hours worked of |
| · at Tharisa Minerals with no LTIs recorded in the financial year under review |
| · 0.09 at Karo Platinum |
| Market Update |
| · PGM prices continue to be constrained by the latency of destocking of pipelines, while we see good demand and the general realisation that the supply-demand balance is shifting given project cutbacks, production output shortcomings and the need for new PGM metal, by various industries. We maintain that the PGM price over the next 12-24 months will be stronger, fuelled by the continued evidence that the internal combustion engine will remain relevant for a much longer time to come, and our firm view that hybrid drivetrains are an integral part of the transportation mix |
| · Chrome prices remain strong on the back of the fundamentals of the chrome market, with real growth in stainless steel, driven by demand from China and beyond. Inland logistics continue to be complex while being professionally managed by our team |
| Operational Update |
| · Annual reef mined up 11.1% as pit remediation and accessibility improved in the second half of the year, with quarter-on-quarter reef mining improving by 1.9% to 1 286.5 kt (Q3 FY2024: 1 261.9 kt) while third-party purchases slowed significantly |
| · Reef milled for the year was up 3.4% to 5 593.8 kt and steady quarter on quarter reef milled at 1 394.9 kt (Q3 FY2024: 1 396.1 kt) as throughput shifted more towards mined ore in line with reduced third party purchases |
| ·Quarterly PGM production at 37.1 koz (Q3 FY2024: 36.9 Koz) |
| ·Rougher feed grade of 1.56 g/t (Q3 FY2024: 1.57 g/t) |
| ·Recovery of 70.6% (Q3 FY2024: 68.5%) |
| ·Quarterly chrome production of 426.8 kt (Q3 FY2024: 410.2 kt) |
| ·Grade of 18.2% Cr2O3 (Q3 FY2024: 18.0%) |
| ·Recovery at 68.8% (Q3 FY2024: 67.3%) |
| Cash Balance and Debt Position |
| · Group cash on hand of US$217.5 million (30 June 2024: US$189.9 million) and debt of US$108.8 million (30 June 2024: US$97.7 million), resulting in an increased net cash position of US$108.7 million (30 June 2024: US$92.2 million) |
| Guidance |
| ·Production guidance for FY2025 is set at between 140 koz and 160 koz PGMs (6E basis) and 1.65 Mt to 1.8 Mt of chrome concentrates |
| The above forward-looking statements have not been reported on or reviewed by Tharisa's auditors and are the responsibility of the directors. |
| For the full document click the link below: |
| Tharisa plc |
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