JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Tharisa, the mining, metals, and innovation company dual-listed on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, has secured new trade finance facilities, from its existing bankers, designed to provide greater flexibility, improve working capital efficiency, and enhance the group's global trading capabilities.

Arxo Resources Limited, the wholly owned trading subsidiary of Tharisa, which traded about 1.5-million tons of chrome concentrates in its financial year ended September 30, has negotiated improved unsecured, revolving trade finance facilities, with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited providing $30-million and Absa, acting through its Corporate & Investment Banking division, providing $15-million with an accordion of $15-million.

These facilities provide for both pre-shipment and post-shipment finance. The facilities replace existing, more onerous and traditional trade finance facilities.

Tharisa's trade facilities are used to optimise trade finance cash flows and position the company to take advantage of trading opportunities that arise, with a focus on the chrome market.

"Securing these enhanced trade finance facilities strengthens our balance sheet resilience and optimises our working capital flows. The additional flexibility allows us to unlock further value in our global marketing and sales activities while supporting our disciplined growth strategy," Tharisa CFO Michael Jones commented.

The new arrangements are complementary to Tharisa's existing banking relationships and are aligned with the group's capital allocation priorities, including maintaining a robust liquidity position, supporting the ramp-up of growth initiatives, and continuing to deliver shareholder returns, Mining Weekly can report.

Tharisa is an integrated resource group critical to the energy transition and decarbonisation of economies.

It incorporates mining, processing, exploration, and the beneficiation, marketing, sales, and logistics of platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome concentrates, using innovation and technology as enablers.

The Tharisa PGMs mine on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, in South Africa’s North West province, is transitioning to underground operations. 

The mine’s opencast operations are expected to be depleted by the 2035 financial year. 

The underground expansion offers a “high confidence, low geological risk opportunity to sustain the mine for in excess of 50 years”.

The existing processing facilities have a capacity of 5.6-million tonnes a year run-of-mine, ensuring production scalability and operational flexibility. 

The addition of underground ore from Tharisa’s West mine (Apollo Complex) and East mine (Orion Complex) from 2031 will ensure that the nameplate processing capacity of 5.6-million tonnes a year is achieved and exceeded. 

The Apollo and Orion complexes will be developed sequentially. 

The phased portal strategy starts with Apollo, where three access points are sequenced to optimise entry into reef layers while minimising complexity and development risk. 

Orion will mirror Apollo’s design, providing operational consistency. 

The complexes have been designed to mine 255 000 t a month at steady state with a combined production rate of 510 000 t a month, capped at the processing facility’s feed capacity. 

This will maintain current PGMs and chrome concentrate production with growth opportunities, owing to smarter mining and less dilution. 

The phased approach to portal development allows for early access to reef, with the bord-and-pillar design supporting safe, cost-effective ramp-up and long-term operational efficiency.