TIDMTHS
RNS Number : 1676D
Tharisa PLC
08 October 2018
Tharisa plc
(Incorporated in the Republic of Cyprus with limited
liability)
(Registration number HE223412)
JSE share code: THA
LSE share code: THS
ISIN: CY0103562118
('Tharisa')
Full year production and fourth quarter report for the period
ended 30 September 2018
Tharisa exceeds annual production guidance
Highlights for the financial year ended 30 September 2018
-- Best in Class safety award at the annual MineSafe conference
and LTIFR of 0.18 per 200 000 man hours worked
-- Tharisa's operational performance was exceptional, with the following records achieved:
-- Platinum group metal ('PGM') recoveries at 84.1%, exceeding targeted 80.0%
-- PGM production of 152.2 koz, up 6.0% year on year
-- Chrome recoveries at 66.0%, an increase of 3.0% from last year
-- Total chrome concentrate production of 1 448.0 kt, up 8.8%
year on year (excluding third party production)
-- Specialty grade chrome concentrate production at 367.7 kt,
25.4% of total chrome concentrate production
-- Tharisa exceeded targeted production at Lonmin K3 chrome plant by 10.9% at 221.8 kt
Commenting on the production results, Tharisa CEO Phoevos
Pouroulis, said:
"The past fiscal year saw yet another year of record production
from the Tharisa mine, with the highest recovery rates on record,
and a Best in Class safety award. The significant advances we have
made through our own R&D, has seen Tharisa adopt new
technologies, increase our ability to beneficiate our products and
has the potential to improve our ability to maximise revenues from
our operations. This strong operational performance at the Tharisa
Mine provides a solid foundation for the development of the highly
prospective exploration projects in Zimbabwe."
Safety
Safety is one of Tharisa's core values and Tharisa continues to
strive for zero harm at its operations. An LTIFR of 0.18 per 200
000 man hours worked was recorded at the end of the financial year.
Tharisa Minerals was awarded the Best in Class award at the annual
MineSafe conference held in August 2018. In September 2018 the
Tharisa operations achieved 4 000 fatality free production
shifts.
Production update
The production update for the quarter and year ended 30
September 2018 is as follows:
Quarter Quarter Quarter Year ended Year Year on
ended ended ended 30 Sept ended year movement
30 Sept 30 June 30 Sept 2018 30 Sept %
2018 2018 2017 2017
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----------- ---------
Reef mined kt 1 179.7 1 244.1 1 300.8 4 875.0 5 025.1 (3.0)
m(3)
Stripping ratio : m(3) 7.2 8.0 6.6 7.9 7.5 5.3
Reef milled kt 1 216.7 1 291.2 1 299.4 5 105.3 4 916.2 3.9
PGM flotation
feed kt 892.8 929.7 950.3 3 718.1 3 599.2 3.3
PGM rougher feed
grade g/t 1.48 1.54 1.58 1.51 1.56 (3.2)
PGM recovery % 84.1 85.6 81.0 84.1 79.7 5.5
6E PGMs produced koz 35.7 39.5 39.0 152.2 143.6 6.0
Average PGM contained
metal basket
price US$/oz 928 947 825 923 786 17.4
Average PGM contained
metal basket
price ZAR/oz 13 067 11 947 10 866 12 038 10 492 14.7
Cr(2) O(3) ROM
grade % 18.3 18.2 18.4 18.2 17.8 2.3
Chrome recovery % 64.5 67.8 63.6 66.0 64.1 3.0
Chrome yield % 27.9 29.1 27.7 28.4 27.1 4.8
Chrome concentrates
produced (excluding
third party) kt 339.2 376.3 360.5 1 448.0 1 331.2 8.8
Metallurgical
grade kt 240.3 281.1 277.0 1 080.3 1 008.1 7.2
Specialty grades kt 98.9 95.2 83.5 367.7 323.1 13.8
Third party chrome
production kt 56.0 59.6 20.0 221.8 20.0 1 009.0
Metallurgical
grade chrome
concentrate contract US$/t
price CIF China 164 193 172 186 200 (7.0)
Metallurgical
grade chrome
concentrate contract ZAR/t
price CIF China 2 313 2 477 2 250 2 415 2 667 (9.4)
Average exchange
rate ZAR:US$ 14.1 12.6 13.2 13.1 13.4 (2.2)
----------------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ----------- --------- ---------------
Mining
Tharisa's mining division mined 4.9 Mt of ROM for FY2018, a 3.0%
decrease year on year. A total of 11.1 Mm(3) of waste rock was
mined for the year. Whilst the stripping ratio of 7.9 on a m(3)
:m(3) basis remained below the LOM average of 9.6, it represented a
5.3% increase from the previous year. There was a reduction in year
on year mining mainly due to availability of equipment. This was a
result of an ongoing comprehensive maintenance plan to return the
used mining fleet, purchased by Tharisa, to OEM standards. The
implementation of the necessary maintenance systems will see
availability and utilisation increasing for FY2019, enabling the
fleet to achieve the required mining rate of 5.2 Mt. A key focus of
the mining division is improving the efficiencies of the drill and
blast operations, which is essential to achieving the required
stripping ratio. This will ensure ongoing access to the reef
horizons and maintaining the supply of ore to the processing
plants.
The PGM rougher feed grade was marginally lower for the year at
1.51 g/t, while the Cr(2) O(3) ROM feed grade improved by 2.3% to
18.2% for the year. A portion of the historically mined lower grade
PGM stockpiles were utilised during the year to feed the processing
plants, resulting in the lower PGM rougher feed grade. There is
continued focus to increase the ROM stockpile during FY2019 with
the appropriate blend of reef horizons.
Processing
A total of 5.1 Mt of reef was milled in FY2018, which is a 3.9%
increase from FY2017. PGM production increased by 6.0% to 152.2 koz
for the period, exceeding the FY2018 guidance. This was as a result
of achieving recoveries of 84.1%, which is higher than the target
for FY2018. Chrome production also surpassed guidance for the
financial year, reaching just over 1.4 Mt. The recovery for the
year was 66.0%, ahead of the targeted recovery of 65.0%. The annual
production of specialty grade chrome concentrates increased by
13.8%, from 323.1 kt in FY2017 to 367.7 kt.
During the quarter ended 30 September 2018, 1.2 Mt of ore was
milled, resulting in PGM production of 35.7 koz (6E basis) and
total chrome concentrate production of 339.2 kt, of which 98.9 kt
(29.2%) was specialty grades. The continued optimisation of the
specialty grade production circuits increases specialty grade
production and the margin as it trades at a premium to
metallurgical grade chrome concentrate.
The chrome production for FY2018 from the Lonmin K3 chrome plant
was 221.8 kt, exceeding the target of 200.0 ktpa of chrome
concentrates for the year.
Market update
The average PGM contained metal basket price for FY2018 was
US$923/oz (ZAR12 038/oz), which increased by 17.4% in US$ terms
from FY2017 and 14.7% in ZAR terms.
The average metallurgical grade chrome concentrate price was
US$186/t (ZAR2 415/t), 7.0% lower in US$ terms and 9.4% lower in
ZAR terms for FY2018.
Specialty chrome concentrates, which accounted for 25.4% of
Tharisa's annual chrome production, continue to attract a
significant premium to metallurgical chrome concentrate prices.
Outlook
Tharisa's FY2019 production guidance is 160.0 koz of PGMs and
1.5 Mt of chrome concentrates, of which 375.0 kt will be speciality
grade chrome concentrates. The Vision 2020 projects will ensure
that Tharisa delivers 200.0 koz of PGMs and 2.0 Mt of chrome
concentrates in 2020 from the Tharisa Mine. The Tharisa team will
continue to implement the Vision 2020 projects during FY2019.
The Environmental Impact Assessments for the exploration
projects for both PGM and chrome businesses in Zimbabwe are
progressing well, and once approved, the exploration programmes
will commence.
The above information has not been reported on or reviewed by
Tharisa's auditors.
Paphos, Cyprus
8 October 2018
JSE Sponsor
Investec Bank Limited
Financial PR contacts:
Bobby Morse / Augustine Chipungu
+44(0) 20 7466 5000
tharisa@buchanan.uk.com
Broker contacts:
Peel Hunt LLP (UK Joint Broker)
Ross Allister / David McKeown
+44 207 7418 8900
BMO Capital Markets Limited (UK Joint Broker)
Jeffrey Couch / Thomas Rider
+44 020 7236 1010
Nedbank Limited (acting through its Corporate and Investment
Banking division) (RSA Broker)
Shabbir Norath / Reginald Demana
+27 11 295 6575
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END
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