Southern Palladium (ASX: SPD) has reported improved platinum group metal (PGM) and chromite recoveries from definitive feasibility study test work at its Bengwenyama project in South Africa.
The optimised configuration delivered estimated full-plant chromite recovery of 85.6% at a concentrate grade of 42.2% chromium oxide, compared with the pre-feasibility study (PFS) assumption of 30% recovery at 42%.
Overall PGM recovery increased to an estimated 87.6% from the earlier 85.3% assumption despite the use of a coarser primary grind.
Southern Palladium expects the results to support a more efficient flowsheet with potential capital, operating cost, and by-product revenue benefits in the definitive feasibility study (DFS) due during the fourth quarter of 2026.
Coarser Grind Improvement
The metallurgical program selected a primary grind of 30%-passing 75 microns, compared with the finer 60%-passing 75 microns used in the PFS.
The coarser grind reduced overgrinding, preserving larger chromite particles for gravity recovery and improving selectivity through subsequent flotation stages.
Southern Palladium expects the configuration to reduce processing intensity and energy consumption while maintaining strong recovery from the Upper Group 2 reef ore.
The selected grind will be incorporated into final process design, equipment sizing and economic modelling.
Chromite Output Potential
The estimated full-plant chromite recovery combines 40.1% through primary gravity separation with a further 45.5% from secondary fine-chromite flotation.
At the optimised second-stage production rate of 2.4 million tonnes per annum of run-of-mine material, annual chromite concentrate output could increase to approximately 1.054Mt from the PFS assumption of 350,000t.
South African chromite concentrate grading 42% chromium oxide traded at approximately US$320/t on a cost, insurance, and freight basis in May 2026.
Southern Palladium also expects the removal of chromite before downstream PGM flotation to improve concentrate quality and reduce valuable material reporting to the tailings storage facility.
Waste Rejection Cuts Processing
Dense medium separation (DMS) test work showed that approximately 24% to 31% of feed mass could be rejected before milling and flotation while limiting PGM losses to between 1.2% and 2.2%.
The pre-concentration step increased estimated plant feed grade from 5.2 grams per tonne to 7.2g/t across platinum, palladium, and gold, while estimated full-plant concentrate grades reached 404.4g/t across those three and 505.9g/t across six precious metals.
The revised metal distribution comprises 44.8% platinum, 34.4% palladium, 9.4% ruthenium, 7.6% rhodium, 2.5% iridium, and 1.3% gold.
Southern Palladium expects the higher platinum contribution to support a stronger weighted-average PGM basket price than assumed previously.
DFS Work Moves Forward
Managing director Johan Odendaal said the results strengthened confidence in Bengwenyama’s orebody and economic potential.
“The results confirm that the Bengwenyama ore responds very well to a conventional beneficiation flowsheet optimised by incorporating DMS pre-concentration, interstage chromite recovery, and staged flotation,” Mr Odendaal said.
“These outcomes are highly encouraging for the DFS—they point to potential capital and operating cost advantages through reduced processing volumes, improved chromite recovery, strong PGM recoveries, and premium concentrate grades.”
“Importantly, the flowsheet remains based on well-understood, conventional processing technologies, supporting our objective of developing Bengwenyama as a high-quality, long-life, and low-cost PGM operation.”
All physical metallurgical test work has now been completed, with final analytical results and independent reporting being incorporated into process design and economic evaluation.