TIDMTHS
RNS Number : 8280E
Tharisa PLC
09 July 2019
Tharisa plc
(Incorporated in the Republic of Cyprus with limited
liability)
(Registration number HE223412)
JSE share code: THA
LSE share code: THS
A2X share code: THA
ISIN: CY0103562118
('Tharisa' or the 'Company')
Production report for the quarter ended 30 June 2019
Overall production improvement sets up a strong finish
Salient features for the quarter ended 30 June 2019
-- Quarterly improvement in reef tonnes mined and milled up 2.0% and 5.4% respectively
-- Stripping ratio at 8.3 (m(3) :m(3) ) with pit redesign substantially completed
-- Platinum Group Metals ('PGM') recovery at 82.1% with PGM production of 34.1 koz
-- Chrome recovery at 65.5% with chrome production up 8.2% to 334.0 kt
-- Investment in fleet capacity demonstrating volume capability
and availability to meet future targets
-- Karo Mining has completed the first phase of its drilling campaign on time and within budget
Commenting on the production results, Tharisa CEO Phoevos
Pouroulis, said:
"The improvement in key production metrics sets the mine up for
a strong finish to the 2019 financial year and good momentum in to
2020. The pit redesign, which has been largely completed, and our
ability to move tonnage ensures that we develop a sustainable and
viable large-scale open pit operation, capable of producing volume
output for the years ahead. The changes we made in the past
quarters with regards to mining fleet improvement and pit
optimisations will benefit us into the future."
Safety
Safety is one of Tharisa's core values and the Company continues
to strive for zero harm at its operations. An LTIFR of 0.22 per 200
000-man hours worked was recorded at the end of the quarter.
Production update
The production update for the quarter ended 30 June 2019 is as
follows:
Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter Nine Nine
ended ended on quarter ended months months
30 Jun 31 Mar movement 30 Jun ended ended
2019 2019 % 2018 30 Jun 30 Jun
2019 2018
------------ -------- ----------- ------------ -------- -----------
Reef mined kt 1 155.4 1 132.9 2.0 1 244.1 3 378.9 3 695.3
m(3)
Stripping ratio : m(3) 8.3 7.4 12.2 8.0 7.5 8.1
Reef milled kt 1 207.3 1 145.0(*) 5.4 1 291.2 3 544.8(*) 3 888.6
PGM flotation
feed kt 889.1 850.3 4.6 929.7 2 640.7 2 825.3
PGM rougher feed
grade g/t 1.45 1.46 (0.7) 1.54 1.48 1.53
PGM recovery % 82.1 85.5 (4.0) 85.6 81.2 84.0
6E PGMs produced koz 34.1 34.0 0.3 39.5 101.7 116.5
Average PGM contained
metal basket
price US$/oz 1 064 1 048 1.5 947 1 033 922
Average PGM contained
metal basket
price ZAR/oz 15 297 14 694 4.1 11 947 14 690 11 721
Cr(2) O(3) ROM
grade % 17.8 18.0 (1.1) 18.2 18.1 18.1
Chrome recovery % 65.5 62.9 4.1 67.8 62.4 66.5
Chrome yield % 27.7 27.0 2.6 29.1 26.7 28.5
Chrome concentrates
produced (excluding
third party) kt 334.0 308.7 8.2 376.3 948.1 1 108.8
Metallurgical
grade Kt 259.4 232.6 11.5 281.1 725.5 840.0
Specialty grades kt 74.6 76.1 (2.0) 95.2 222.6 268.8
Third party chrome
production kt 59.1 60.3 (2.0) 59.6 171.6 165.8
Metallurgical
grade chrome
concentrate contract US$/t
price CIF China 174 162 7.4 193 166 193
Metallurgical
grade chrome
concentrate contract ZAR/t
price CIF China 2 525 2 268 11.3 2 477 2 361 2 449
Average exchange
rate ZAR:US$ 14.4 14.2 1.4 12.6 14.2 12.7
----------------------- ------------ -------- ----------- ------------ -------- ----------- --------
(*) includes the processing of 23.1 kt and 99.0 kt of
commissioning tails through the processing plants for the quarter
ended 31 March 2019 and nine months ended 30 June 2019
respectively
Mining
Reef tonnes mined continued to improve at the Tharisa Mine with
an increase of 2.0% as compared to the previous quarter, to 1 155.4
kt mined. Additional material available to the mine resulted in
total reef tonnes milled increasing by 5.4% to 1 207.3 kt in the
quarter, bringing total tonnes mined to 3 378.9 kt and total tonnes
milled to 3 544.8 kt for the year to date. The mine recorded a
pleasing 12.2% improvement in stripping ratio, up from 7.4 m(3)
:m(3) in the March quarter to 8.3 m(3) :m(3) in the June quarter
under review. As part of the ongoing pit redesign, the mine moved
an additional 470 000 Mm(3) of in-pit material during the quarter
to optimise the pit. When included in the stripping ratio
calculation, the total waste volume moved by the mining fleet in
the second quarter achieved a ratio of 9.7 m(3) :m(3) as compared
to 9.4 m(3) :m(3) in Q2. The Tharisa Mine is continuing to create
flexibility which will result in improvements to the reef mix
thereby improving plant feed grades.
Processing
PGM production increased by 0.3% to 34.1 koz (6E basis) over the
previous quarter and recoveries were maintained at 82.1%. The
slight decrease compared to the previous quarter being due to the
MG reef horizon mix into the plant differing as a result of the
planned mining.
Chrome concentrate production increased by 8.2% to 334.0 kt,
with recoveries improving by 4.1% to 65.5% compared to the previous
quarter. Of the total chrome concentrates produced, 259.4 kt were
metallurgical grade, an improvement of 11.2% versus the previous
quarter and 74.6 kt were speciality grade, versus 76.1 kt in the
previous quarter,
The chrome production for the quarter from the Lonmin K3 chrome
plant was 59.1 kt compared to 60.3 kt in the previous quarter.
Market update
The average PGM contained metal basket price for the third
quarter was US$1 064/oz (ZAR15 297/oz), an increase of 1.5% in US$
terms from the last quarter and 4.1% in ZAR terms.
The average chrome price received, while slightly up in the June
quarter at US$174/t compared to US$162/t in the March quarter, is
showing a downward trend on a nine month basis at US$166/t, with
current spot around US$140/t. This compared to an average of
US$193/t for the comparable nine month period in financial year
2018.
New Business
Karo Mining Holdings Limited has completed the first phase of
its drilling campaign on time and within budget, measuring a total
of 30 km of diamond core drilling over 206 holes. Preliminary
resource data will be available in November 2019.
Tharisa has completed the value engineering and front-end
engineering work undertaken on the data used in the Definitive
Feasibility Study for the Vulcan Plant. This, together with input
from engineering and cost consultants will be presented to the New
Business Development Committee of the Tharisa Board for
approval.
Outlook
Tharisa's FY2019 production guidance remains unchanged.
The above information has not been reported on or reviewed by
Tharisa's auditors.
Paphos, Cyprus
09 July 2019
JSE Sponsor
Investec Bank Limited
Investor relations contacts:
Daniel Thöle / Ilja Graulich
+27 61 400 2939 / +27 83 604 0820
Financial PR contacts:
Bobby Morse / Augustine Chipungu
+44 020 7466 5000
tharisa@buchanan.uk.com
Broker contacts:
Peel Hunt LLP (UK Joint Broker)
Ross Allister / James Bavister / David McKeown
+44 207 7418 8900
BMO Capital Markets Limited (UK Joint Broker)
Jeffrey Couch / Thomas Rider
+44 020 7236 1010
Berenberg (UK Joint Broker)
Matthew Armitt / Detlir Elezi
+44 20 3207 7800
Nedbank Limited (acting through its Corporate and Investment
Banking division) (RSA Broker)
Shabbir Norath
+27 11 295 6575
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END
DRLRPMJTMBBMBJL
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 09, 2019 04:28 ET (08:28 GMT)
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