Johannesburg- and London-listed mining and metals company Tharisa has reported a 6.2% quarter-on-quarter increase in platinum group metal (PGM) production to 34 500 oz and a 3.9% quarter-on-quarter increase in chrome concentrate production to 395 700 t for the quarter ended June 30 – the third quarter of its 2025 financial year.

The company owns and operates the Tharisa mine on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. For the third quarter, the mine achieved a 27.7% quarter-on-quarter increase in reef mined at 1.44-million tonnes, while reef milled increased by 2.3% quarter-on-quarter to 1.39-million tonnes.

"[Thia was] an improving quarter as our reef mining volumes trended higher, as we made good progress in the east pit with remediation post the heavy rainfall in the first half of the year. 

"The quarter reflected recovery improvements in both our chrome and PGM circuits and we are trending towards our targeted performance metrics for our integrated processing plants. Our head grade blend remains a challenge, while overall output increased on the back of improved recoveries. The focus for the remainder of the year is to provide improved mined grades into our plants. With improved flexibility in our openpits and increased mining volume, we are forecasting improving head grades," comments CEO Phoevos Pouroulis.

However, despite the increase in third-quarter production, Tharisa notes that output for the first nine months of the financial year, at 96 900 oz of PGMs and 1.15-million tonnes of chrome concentrate, indicates that production is trending towards the lower end of guidance for the full year.

"We consider it prudent to lower guidance by approximately 5% off the lower end of guidance which was set at 140 000 oz of PGMs and 1.65-million tonnes of chrome concentrate," it states.

Further, commenting on market conditions, Tharisa notes that PGM prices had, during the June quarter, continued their upward trend, driven by real physical demand for refined platinum and industrial buying, while supply cutbacks and pipeline destocking underpinned the widening gap in the supply-demand fundamentals.

"While prices are now more supportive of industry profitability, long-term sustainability of higher prices is necessary to induce wide scale project development," it cautions.

Chrome prices, meanwhile, recovered during the third quarter, as pipeline inventories needed restocking, with metallurgical chrome prices recovering to $295/t.

"Prices retreated towards the end of the quarter; however, we are of the view that the supply-demand fundamentals remain in balance with the current spot price at $265/t," the company points out.