Name of the Project
Tharisa PGMs underground project.

Location
Western limb of the Bushveld Complex, in South Africa’s North West province.

Project Owner/s
Integrated resource group Tharisa Minerals.

Project Description
The Tharisa platinum group metals (PGMs) mine is transitioning to underground operations. The mine’s openpit 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 company has said.

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 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. The Orion complex 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.

Potential Job Creation
The transition plan includes a partner-driven workforce strategy that phases in labour ramp-up while retraining and transitioning openpit employees to underground roles.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not disclosed.

Capital Expenditure
Transitional capital for the dual project development over the ten-year period is $547-million.

The Apollo complex carries a capital cost of $363-million, while Orion requires $184-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Apollo is expected to deliver first ore in the second quarter of 2026 and ramp up to steady-state production of 255 000 t a month by the third quarter of 2029. 

Orion will follow, with portal development starting in the first quarter of 2031, first ore targeted for the fourth quarter of that year, and steady-state production of 210 000 t a month by the third quarter of 2033, with potential to expand to 255 000 t a month. 

Latest Developments
Tharisa started its underground mining strategy with the first blast at the mine on March 31, 2026. Work over the past 18 months has focused on high-wall safety and establishing the access points for the inaugural blast. Tharisa has started with the Apollo portal on the western side of the openpit and plans to ramp this up over the next three years to a steady-state production rate of 255 000 t a month. 

Once Apollo reaches steady state, the company plans to start the development of the Orion portal on the eastern side, with the transition to fully underground operations expected to be completed by 2034.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Provest (drilling and installation of anchors and roof bolts, shotcrete application, grout plant operations and grout pack installations services); Enaex Africa (explosives); Komatsu (mining equipment); MacLean Engineering (underground mobile equipment solution); Sandvik mining industry engineering group); Cementation Africa (mining contractor); Dwyka Labs (technical partner for smart mining technologies); RSV (engineering services); Middindi Consulting (geotechnical studies); KLM Consulting Services (structural geological and hydrogeological design); Pivot Mining Consultants (geology and mineral resources); Ukwazi Mining Studies (mine design); AMS Haden (ventilation design); Manyabe Consulting (environmental-impact assessment report); Sight Africa (trackless mobile machinery solutions); Artesium Consulting Services (water balance and mass load studies);Plan A-Head Studies (labour model); Epoch (tailings design); PQS Profection Quantity Surveyors (basis of estimate).

Contact Details for Project Information
Tharisa Minerals, tel +27 11 996 3500 or email ir@tharisa.com.