Tharisa has outlined a deliberate transition to underground mining at its namesake mine on the Bushveld Advanced of South Africa, saying the $574 million plan provides a excessive confidence, low geological danger alternative to maintain the Tharisa Mine for in extra of fifty years.
The addition of underground mined ore from West Mine (Apollo Advanced) and East Mine (Orion Advanced) from 2031 at Tharisa will make sure that the nameplate processing capability of 5.6 Mt/y run of mine (ROM) is achieved and exceeded, the corporate says. At this capability, the completely open-pit operation is at present producing round 140,000-160,000 oz of PGMs (6E foundation) and 1.65-1.8 Mt of chrome focus (FY 2025 steering).
Each the underground Apollo and Orion complexes, which shall be developed sequentially, have been designed to mine 255,000 t/mth at regular state with a mixed manufacturing fee of 510,000 t/mth, capped on the plant feed capability of 5.6 Mt/y, thus sustaining present PGM and chrome focus output with development alternatives on account of smarter mining and fewer dilution.
Apollo is scheduled to ship first ore by Q2 FY2026, reaching regular state by Q3 FY2029, supported by a month-to-month quantity of 255,000 t/mth. Orion will observe with first ore in This fall FY2031 and regular state by Q3 FY2033, producing 210,000 t/mth however designed to achieve a capability of 255,000 t/mth (Tharisa’s monetary 12 months runs from October 1 to September 30, which means the 2025 monetary 12 months runs from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025). Collectively, these developments underpin sustained manufacturing development and operational scalability.
Phoevos Pouroulis, CEO of Tharisa, mentioned the phased method to portal improvement on the underground operation permits early entry to reef with the bord and pillar design supporting protected, cost-effective ramp up and long-term operational effectivity.
A “fit-for-purpose fleet” chosen by means of movement research and aggressive tendering has outlined the necessity for 140 items on the Apollo Advanced, consisting of LHDs, vans, drill rigs, bolters, scissor lifts, sprayers and graders. The Orion Advanced mirrors Apollo to comprise operational consistency, nonetheless there’s a plan to transition to conveyor-based haulage at each complexes additional into the lifetime of mine.
A spokesperson for Tharisa advised IM that the fleet plans included using 10-t-payload Komatsu WX10LP low profile LHDs, 30-t-payload HX30LP low profile vans, Sandvik DD321 double increase drill rigs, MacLean SS5 concrete spraying items, MacLean concrete transmixers, Fletcher 3120 bolters and extra.
The corporate additionally mentioned it deliberate to make use of underground contractors to hold out operations, namechecking each ProVest and Cementation Africa, in addition to Enaex for explosives provides.
