Tharisa says a strong recovery in production has kept it on track to meet its full-year targets despite a pullback in platinum group metal prices and continued heavy spending on its expansion projects.
The platinum group metals and chrome producer increased platinum group metals production by 15.5% during the third quarter after recovering from weather-related disruptions that affected mining in the previous quarter, it said on Tuesday. Reef mine also rebounded strongly as operations returned to normal, helping offset slightly lower milling volumes caused by planned maintenance.
The operational improvement comes as prices move in the opposite direction. Tharisa’s average platinum group metals basket price fell nearly 12% from the previous quarter after a recent rally, while chrome prices stayed firm during the reporting period before softening more recently.
The company said year-to-date production has positioned it to deliver its full-year guidance of 145,000 to 165,000 ounces of platinum group metals and 1.5-million to 1.65-million tonnes of chrome concentrates.
The miner is also pressing ahead with its long-term growth plans. It continued investing in the Tharisa underground project in South Africa and the Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe during the quarter, increasing debt as capital spending accelerated. Even so, the group ended the quarter with almost $200m in cash and remained in a net cash position, it said.
With year-to-date production levels, we remain positioned to deliver against our FY2026 production guidance
— Phoevos Pouroulis, Tharisa CEO
The underground project remains on schedule and within budget, with portal development expected to deliver first run-of-mine ore during the fourth quarter. At Karo Platinum, mining contractor mobilisation has been completed, and waste stripping is well under way.
CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said the company’s recovery in operations had strengthened confidence in meeting its annual targets.
“The third quarter demonstrated normalised operations and was in line with budget. PGM production increased by 15.5%, supported by a marked improvement in recovery,” he said.
“With year-to-date production levels, we remain positioned to deliver against our FY2026 production guidance.”
Chrome production was broadly stable during the quarter, easing slightly as lower milling volumes and marginally weaker recoveries offset better ore grades.
Business Day