Tharisa unveils $5m share buyback plan

Shares in chrome and platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Tharisa Minerals rose more than 11% on Tuesday after the miner disclosed plans to buy back up to $5m of the company’s shares.

The miner, which is duallisted on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, said it would buy up to 10% of its shares in issue.

In a statement, the company said its shares were trading at a significant discount, having been negatively affected by the PGM commodity price environment, while not reflecting the strong co-product contribution from its chrome sales.

“While the PGM commodity pricing environment is challenging, chrome prices have remained firm, reinforcing the strength of our co-product business model,” CEO Michael Jones said.

The company has appointed UK brokerage Peel Hunt to manage and carry out on-market purchases of ordinary shares as principal on both the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, up to a maximum amount of $5m.

The buyback programme begins on Tuesday and will run until February 21 2025.

Tharisa’s main operating asset is the Tharisa Mine near Rustenburg, in the southwestern limb of the Bushveld Complex. Tharisa also owns Karo Platinum on the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe.

The PGMs Tharisa produces are used in electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and also go into producing the fuel cells for electric vehicle engines.

In March 2023, the miner said it was developing the Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe at an estimated cost of $390m. The low-cost, open-pit PGM project is due to come on stream in July, with initial production of 194,000oz expected.

“The Karo Platinum Project is a multigenerational resource and while maintaining capital discipline, we continue on the road to delivering the necessary third-party financing to deliver the first phase into production,” Jones said in a statement on Tuesday.

At 1.55pm local time, the share price had risen 11.43% to R14.04, the biggest one-day gain since September 2021.