Tharisa moves outside of its mine and South African country borders
The past financial year was a watershed year for Tharisa, in many respects. The company moved outside of its Tharisa Mine and South African country borders by commencing production at Salene Chrome Zimbabwe, while completing an implementation study on its world class Karo Platinum project, in which Tharisa owns 26.8%.
In South Africa, Tharisa has grown both PGM and chrome production at the Tharisa Mine, and this trajectory has continued into Q1 FY2022, as evidenced by the quarterly report released in early January 2022. The Vulcan Plant, Tharisa’s fine chrome beneficiation plant, is well into commissioning and the live tailings from both the Voyager and Genesis Plants are being fed into this new plant, designed in-house and 90% procured locally in South Africa.
From a financial perspective, 2021 was also a major success for Tharisa. The company increased its dividend by almost 160%, our earnings per share increased by 131% and our EBITDA almost doubled. On 15 February 2022 Tharisa concluded a landmark BEE transaction, that saw Tharisa acquire 26% of
Tharisa Minerals and its BEE partners becoming shareholders at the listed company level.
Tharisa has seen an intense focus on the impacts of climate change and are acutely aware of our accountability in reducing our carbon footprint. The company remains consciously aware of the mining industry being a critical contributor to the global economy, as well as to the delivery of critical metals for the global energy transition.
It is therefore essential for Tharisa to minimise the environmental impact of its own activities. As such, Tharisa has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 30% by 2030, with a clear roadmap to being net carbon neutral by 2050. The company has commenced this roadmap with the signing this past month of a comprehensive MOU with world leaders in renewable energy to construct 40 MW of renewable solar power at the Tharisa Mine.
Loucas Pouroulis, Executive Chairman, said: “Tharisa must embrace the future through the application of innovation and technology to support global environmental protection. Our commitment to improving the lives of those we employ and the communities within which we operate, combined with the returns we deliver for all our stakeholders, can only be achieved with sustainability at the core of Tharisa’s strategy.”
