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Southern Palladium is revising the design of the processing plant for its Bengwenyama PGM-chrome project after tests showed the operation could produce nearly three times more chrome from the ore than previously expected.The higher expectation has prompted the company to take more time to finalise its definitive feasibility study (DFS), which sets out how the mine will be built, operated and financed. The study is now expected in the first quarter of 2027.The revised design will include a dense media separation (DMS) process to separate chrome-bearing material from waste.The company said it is extending the DFS timetable by one quarter to incorporate the results into the plant design and determine the most effective way to process the ore. Additional drilling is also under way to provide more information for the mine and plant design.The development comes as Southern Palladium secured a 30-year mining right for Bengwenyama from the department of mineral & petroleum resources.The mining right, granted on August 7, covers 5,280ha in Limpopo and permits the mining of PGMs, gold, copper, chrome, cobalt, silver and nickel.(Dorothy Kgosi) The company’s board has approved the start of early work on the mine, including the box cut and decline, before year-end. These works remain subject to the completion of the relevant water use and waste management permits.The box cut is the initial opening at the surface for the underground mine, while the decline is the sloping tunnel used to access the ore body and move workers, vehicles and equipment underground.At full stage 2 production, Southern Palladium expects Bengwenyama to produce more than 400,000oz of PGMs and 1-million tonnes of high-grade chrome concentrate a year.The project’s previous prefeasibility study, completed in July 2025, estimated an after-tax net present value of $857m (R13.8bn). Southern Palladium said the assumptions behind that valuation has not materially changed.The company said the revised DFS timetable was also affected by the loss of about 29 days’ drilling in the first half of the year due to heavy rain in Limpopo.Southern Palladium is also building its project team. Michiel Breed, a mining engineer with experience in mine construction and project management, has been appointed project director and will join on September 1. France Modau, a mining engineer with 12 years’ PGM mine-management experience, joined as underground mining manager in June.The Bengwenyama project is held through Miracle Upon Miracle Investments, in which Southern Palladium has a 70% stake and the Bengwenyama Traditional Council, representing the community, holds 30%.The mining right follows environmental authorisation granted in June 2025. Southern Palladium has also lodged an environmental guarantee with the department to provide for the rehabilitation and restoration of areas disturbed by mining.The revised yield saw the company’s share price jump as much as 28% in intraday trade, to as high as R23.01, its highest level since January.Business Day
