Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis
Platinum group metals and chrome miner Tharisa says an improvement in key production metrics has set its Tharisa mine up for a strong finish to the 2019 financial year.
For the third quarter ended June 30, Tharisa achieved a 2% quarter-on-quarter improvement in reef tonnes mined and a 5.4% quarter-on-quarter improvement in reef tonnes milled.
The JSE-, LSE- and A2X-listed company produced 34 100 oz of platinum, at a recovery rate of 82.1%, and 334 000 t of chrome, at a recovery rate of 65.5%, in the quarter under review.
Pouroulis said the openpit redesign at the Tharisa mine in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, had now been largely completed, which would contribute to increased tonnages mined and moved.
As part of the ongoing pit redesign, the mine moved an additional 470 000 m3 of in-pit material during the quarter.
Meanwhile, the company’s 27%-owned subsidiary in Zimbabwe, Karo Mining, had completed the first phase of a 206-hole, 30 km diamond core drilling campaign, in the Great Dyke region, on time and within budget.
The company expects preliminary resource data to be available in November.