RE: Salene Chrome Mystery12 Apr 2024 21:53
Hi Manyaana, I have mentioned Salene before but no information was forthcoming and in the current lull Ilja is not allowed to comment until the H1 accounts are out on 24/05. As you say, the Zim government introduced an export ban to encourage the added value to stay in the country but it probably just allows the domestic ferrochrome producers to buy at lower prices if they do not have to compete with the Chinese export market (intriguingly there is a small amount of Zim chrome concentrates sold in China so I am not sure how it gets out). There was discussion of a similar export ban in S Africa but they have gone in a different direction.
If I remember rightly, Salene was a relatively small scale operation based on 80,000 tonnes/year high grade chrome concentrates with a relatively small LOM of 7-10 year, but 80,000 tonnes at say $400/tonne would give a revenue of $32m/year which would probably generate a profit after tax of say $8m/year. Instead it is currently mothballed but still held in the Tharisa accounts for a rainy day. In their analysis 2 days ago, Tamesis gave Salene a risked value of $48m.
Likewise I would like to hear more on the smaller open pit possibly starting to transition to an underground mine as early as 2025 or 2026 and what this will do to overall chrome production and costs at Tharisa over the next 3 to 8 years.