The Tharisa Mine is situated on the southwestern limb of the Bushveld Complex, one of the world’s largest layered mafic intrusions, which host layers rich in PGM, chromium and vanadium, and constitute the largest known resource of these metals. The Tharisa Mine is underlain by the MG and UG Chromitite Layers straddling the boundary between the Marikana and Rustenburg facies. The MG Chromitite Layers outcrop is on the property, striking roughly east to west, with a gentle change in strike to northwest-southeast in the far west. The layers dip at between 12° and 15° to the north. Towards the western extent of the outcrop, the dip is steeper. The stratigraphy typically narrows to the west and the dip steepens. The dip typically shallows out at depth across the extent of the mine area.

The MG Chromitite Layer package consists of five groups of Chromitite Layers, being the MG0 Chromitite Layer at the bottom, followed by the MG1 Chromitite Layer, the MG2 Chromitite Layer (sub-divided into A, B and C Chromitite Layers), the MG3 Chromitite Layer and the MG4 Chromitite Layer (sub-divided into 4(0), 4 and 4A Chromitite Layers). The layers between the Chromitite Layers frequently include stringers or disseminations of chromite. The MG Chromitite Layers at the Tharisa Mine are a typical stack of tabular deposits.

The structural interpretation of the Tharisa Mine geology is based on the aeromagnetic data, the available drilling, and observations in the operating open ........

The Tharisa Mine is a mechanised open-pit operation.

The open pit is divided into the east pit and west pit, and extracts reef from the five MG Chromitite Layers.

The open-pit LOM plan was based on a targeted ROM production rate from both the East and the West open pits of 5.6 Mtpa over a period of 13 years before the production ramps down to depletion in 2040. Production transitions to underground mining from 2036 onwards.

The mechanised nature of the open-pit operation has ensured that it remains within the lower cost quartile of PGM and chrome producers, with an ore body showing consistency over the past decade of production.

The Tharisa Mine has a remaining open-pit life of 18 years with a projected 40-year underground mining operation.

In 2021 Tharisa Minerals announced an extension of the open-pit LOM following an annual review of its Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve statement. Tharisa Mine’s open-pit mining will continue through 2040 while also de-risking the development of the operation for underground mining due to a managed transition. The Tharisa Mine remains a world-class, long-life asset and will continue to provide a sustainable, low-cost platform for over 50 years.

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