Dual-listed Tharisa, which has operations in South Africa, is set to meet its annual platinum group metals (PGMs) production target due to a resilient production performance feeding into a strong pricing environment.
The miner's guidance for the full year is between 155 000 oz and 165 000 oz of PGMs.
It said in its production report for the period ended 31 March 2021 that the PGMs output leapt by 11.5% year-on-year on a 6E (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum) basis to 35 800 oz, compared with the 32 100 oz produced, a year earlier.
PGMs production was, however, 8.9% weaker on a quarter-on-quarter basis due to a secondary mill motor failure.
Meanwhile, Tharisa said it had a cash balance of $73.1-million at the end of the quarter and debt of $41.7-million, resulting in positive net cash of $31.4-million.
"With the much higher commodity prices, Tharisa was able to convert production into cashflow, shown in our increased net cash balance, this while we are entering the major capital phase for the Vulcan plant which remains on track for construction to be completed this financial year," said company chief executive Phoevos Pouroulis.
"Despite the combined headwinds of extreme weather conditions as well as the ongoing impact of COVID-19 restrictions during the quarter, the continued optimisation of our operations resulted in consistent mining, underpinning our strategy of generating sustainable production from our long-life assets."
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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