Name of the Project
Vulcan chrome plant.

Location
Near Brits, in South Africa’s North West province.

Project Owner/s
JSE- and LSE-listed platinum group metals and chrome co-producer Tharisa Mining.

Project Description
The Vulcan plant will extract fine chrome from current in-line tailings from the combined feed of Tharisa’s Genesis and Voyager plants using existing technologies in fine chrome recovery, which will lead to an estimated 47% reduction in chrome tailings.

Vulcan is the first large-scale plant to produce chrome concentrates from chrome ultrafines. The concept of Vulcan was developed entirely by wholly-owned Tharisa subsidiary Arxo Metals to extract the ultrafine chrome from tailings.

The project will increase chrome recovery from 65% to 82%, thereby adding an estimated 400 000 t/y of chrome concentrate to the company’s production.

The plant will have a capacity of 500 t/h.

Potential Job Creation
Of the total capital expenditure on the Vulcan project, more than 90% has been procured in South Africa, with up to 1 000 contractors locally sourced and more than 100 new permanent jobs created.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
$54.2-million. The project is being funded in house by Tharisa.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to enter operation in 2021.

Latest Developments
Cold commissioning of the Vulcan ultrafine chrome recovery and beneficiation plant has started, with the plant’s commissioning firmly on track and initial saleable production due before the end of the year.

As part of the cold commissioning process, Tharisa is conducting comprehensive testing of the entire circuit, before chrome tailings material will enter the plant.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Wood (definitive feasibility study and engineering, procurement and construction manager).

Contact Details for Project Information
Tharisa investor relations, tel +27 11 996 3500 or email ir@tharisa.com.