Tharisa delays Karo project as platinum group metals output slumps

(Alliance News) - Tharisa PLC on Tuesday reported platinum group metals production that was far lower that its prior guidance, pointing to depressed prices and production setbacks.

The Cyprus-headquartered platinum miner also said it had delayed commissioning its Karo platinum project in Zimbabwe to June 2025, citing weaker PGM prices and uncertain global economic outlook.

This project was scheduled to commence production next year, with first ore milled in July 2024.

In a production update on Tuesday, Tharisa said PGM production fell by 19% to 144,700 ounces for the financial year that ended September 30 from 179,200 a year earlier. In the fourth quarter alone, output declined by 17% to 30,700 ounces from 37,000.

The PGM price decreased by 22% to USD1,331 an ounce in the fourth quarter from USD1,695 three months before. Annually, prices slumped 26% on average to USD1,893 an ounce from USD2,564.

In April, Tharisa had said it expected annual PGM production to range from 175,000 to 185,000 ounces.

But chrome production was flat at 1.58 million tonnes for the financial year that ended September 30. Output for the fourth quarter rose by 9.1% to 413,400 tonnes from 378,800 in the third quarter.

Tharisa Chief Executive Phoevos Pouroulis said the divergence in commodity prices could not have been more visible than in the past quarter, which saw "solid fundamentals" in the chrome market, but these fundamentals were "distinctly lacking" in the PGM market.

The earlier operational mining challenges and resulting ore mix from the company's own ore and purchased ore also hit PGM recovery and thus production, Pouroulis said.

For the 2024 financial year, PGM production is guided to a range of between 145,000 and 155,000 ounces.

Annual chrome concentrate output is seen between 1.7 million and 1.8 million tonnes.

By Artwell Dlamini, Alliance News reporter

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