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Fourth quarter production report: 3 months ended 30 September 2015
Tharisa plc
(Incorporated in the Republic of Cyprus with limited liability)
(Registration number HE223412)
JSE share code: THA
ISIN: CY0103562118
(“Tharisa”)
Fourth quarter production report: 3 months ended 30 September 2015
Safety
Safety remains a top priority and Tharisa continues to strive for zero harm at our operations. Sadly,
a tragic fatality occurred at the tailings storage facility construction site involving trackless mobile
machinery on 28 September 2015. The board of directors, management and employees of the
Tharisa Group extend their sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the
deceased.
Prior to this fatality, the Tharisa Mine had achieved 5 878 272 fatality free man hours at a lost time
injury frequency rate of 0.06 per 200 000 hours.
Production update
The production update for the quarter ended 30 September 2015 is as follows:
Financial year Financial year
Quarter ended Quarter ended ended 30 ended
30 September 30 September September 30 September
2015 2014 2015 2014
Reef mined kt 1 102.2 897.0 4 183.2 3 908.5
Stripping ratio m³ waste/m³
reef 12.2 12.7 10.7 10.6
Reef milled kt 1 096.7 977.0 4 400.4 3 913.1
PGM flotation feed
tonnes kt 853.4 758.1 3 446.2 3 060.4
PGM rougher feed grade g/t 1.52 1.56 1.62 1.63
6E PGMs produced koz 27.1 22.5 118.0 78.2
PGM recovery % 65.1 58.9 65.8 48.8
Average PGM contained
metal basket price US$/oz 754 1 104 885 1 103
Cr?O? ROM grade % 18.4 18.5 18.3 19.4
Chrome recovery % 61.1 59.3 58.0 59.4
Chrome yield % 26.9 26.2 25.5 27.7
Chrome concentrates
produced kt 295.2 255.9 1 122.2 1 085.2
42% metallurgical
grade kt 252.6 219.7 1 009.4 937.0
Chemical and
foundry grades kt 42.6 36.2 112.8 148.2
Financial year Financial year
Quarter ended Quarter ended ended 30 ended
30 September 30 September September 30 September
2015 2014 2015 2014
42% metallurgical grade
chrome concentrate US$/t CIF
contract price China 159 178 158 158
Average exchange rate ZAR:US$ 13.0 10.8 12.0 10.6
Fourth quarter commentary
Optimal waste and inter-burden removal was a key focus area in this quarter to ensure that
sufficient reef in the required blend was available for processing. This focus, together with the re-
opening of the West Pit, contributed to the stripping ratio for the quarter being higher than the life
of open pit average stripping ratio of 8.5 on a m3 to m3 basis. The benefits of maintaining the correct
multi-horizon profile will be realised in due course not only in terms of mining costs but also
improved plant feed grades and recoveries.
Mining was affected by a number of section 54 and section 55 instructions issued by the Department
of Mineral Resources with approximately nine mining shifts being lost (approximately 5%). Potential
production losses were mitigated to a large extent during the quarter due to the run of mine (ROM)
stockpiles ahead of the Genesis and Voyager plants.
The reconfiguration of the primary crusher at the Voyager Plant led to both an improvement in the
availability of crushed ore and a reduction in the crushing circuit downtime. Production was,
however, affected by scheduled non-routine maintenance including re-lining of the secondary mills
at the Voyager Plant and the premature failure of the recently replaced rakes at the Voyager Plant
thickener.
PGM production was impacted by the lower rougher feed grade during the quarter, partly as a result
of an increase in weathered ore extracted from the free dig Far West Pit and the opening up of the
western section of the Central Pit. Recoveries remain in line with the plan based on the material
being processed and are expected to return to the target recovery of 72% once unweathered ore is
processed towards the end of Q2 FY2016.
The PGM basket price for the quarter of US$754 remains constrained by global macroeconomic
conditions.
Chrome production was impacted by the lower than planned feed grade with a less than optimal
blend of reefs being processed while the mining sequence was revised. Chrome recoveries however
improved during the quarter to 61.1% from 57.7% during the prior quarter, approaching the target
of 65%.
The chrome concentrate contract price came under pressure following the devaluation of the
Renminbi and a slowdown in the Chinese economy, the dominant customer for the metallurgical
grade chrome concentrates. The Tharisa Group continued to benefit from the sales revenue from
the higher value-add chemical and foundry grade chrome concentrates, which are premium
products marketed to a broader market.
Reef mining under-performance led to a strategic review of the multi contractor mining model being
undertaken. A decision was taken to revert to a single mining contractor, which decision was
implemented post the quarter end and the mining transition is progressing according to the change
management plan.
The suspension of the mining operations, which was uplifted on 5 October 2015, following the
fatality on 28 September 2015, has resulted in the ROM stockpiles being substantially depleted and
it will take some time to rebuild the ROM stockpiles. Accordingly, in the short term a non-optimal
blend of reef will be fed into the plants. This will have some negative impact on production until
feed stability is regained in Q2 FY2016.
The Tharisa Group remains on track to achieve PGM steady state of 144 kozpa and chrome
concentrates of 1.5 Mtpa in FY2016. Tharisa’s large-scale, long-life, open pit PGM and chrome co-
product mine also remains on track to prove itself a viable and attractive business notwithstanding
the current commodity cycle.
The above information has not been reported on or reviewed by Tharisa’s auditors.
Paphos, Cyprus
9 October 2015
Sponsor
Investec Bank Limited
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