For years, investors have heard a familiar story about platinum. At the same time, global markets remain noisy, commodity prices move in cycles, and geopolitical tension keeps adding pressure.
Against that backdrop, Tharisa has continued investing.
During a recent webinar, Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis joined Chief Enablement Officer Carel Nolte to discuss the company’s interim results, the future of platinum group metals, the importance of chrome, and why the business is still committing capital while much of the industry has spent years being more cautious.
Carel shared that more than 8,000 EasyEquities investors hold Tharisa shares, with strong interest from Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria. The average investor age is 38, the largest holding is over R1.1 million, the oldest investor is 91, and the youngest is a minor account already holding around R40,000 worth of Tharisa shares.
It was a closer look at a company many retail investors already own, and a sector that may be more strategic, complex and future-facing than many people realise.
One of the biggest ideas from the webinar was simple: mining takes time.
Phoevos explained that, on average, it takes around 16 years to build a mine from first discovery. That means supply cannot simply appear when demand improves or prices move higher.
New mines need:
According to Phoevos, the South African platinum industry is coming out of more than a decade where there has been limited investment in expansion and new opportunities.
While short-term volatility can make boards and management teams cautious, Tharisa believes the supply side is becoming more constrained. Phoevos pointed to supply limitations, declining production, and demand that remains relatively robust despite wider macroeconomic pressure.
For Tharisa, this is part of the reason to keep investing through the cycle. Management believes future supply deficits may become more important than many investors currently appreciate.
Carel asked a useful question during the webinar: how much of Tharisa’s latest results came from stronger commodity prices, and how much came from execution?
Phoevos brought the answer back to capital discipline and operational performance.
The first six months were difficult, with extreme weather conditions, lightning, heavy rainfall and flash floods. Despite that, the team delivered:
Mining performance is often discussed through production numbers and prices, but Phoevos linked safety, productivity and discipline together. As he put it, a safe, clean mine is a productive mine.
One of Tharisa’s most important long-term projects is the transition from open-pit mining to underground mining at the Tharisa mine.
The scale is significant. Phoevos described the investment as around R10 billion over 10 years.
The underground expansion could unlock around 60 years of mine life beyond the current open-pit operation. It is also expected to improve efficiency because underground mining can reduce the waste movement and haulage pressures that come with a mature open pit.
A few key points stood out:
The important message for shareholders was that Tharisa believes these projects remain viable even in a lower-price environment.
That is central to how management thinks about resilience.
Although platinum often gets more attention, chrome was one of the most interesting parts of the webinar.
Phoevos described chrome as strategic and critical for South Africa. The reason is straightforward: South Africa’s Bushveld Complex hosts more than 70% of the world’s chrome resources, while China has no meaningful chrome resources of its own and relies heavily on imports for stainless steel production.
According to Phoevos:
Chrome may not have the same profile as lithium, copper or platinum, but its role in the global economy is essential.
It is the key ingredient that makes stainless steel stainless. It helps make steel corrosion-resistant and rust-resistant, which makes it important across:
Phoevos also explained that future supply may become more challenging. Many shallow open-pit chrome resources in South Africa have already been exploited, meaning future production could require heavier investment into underground mining.
With demand projected to grow by around 3.5% to 5%, he believes chrome could move into deficit territory, which is unusual for a bulk commodity.
The platinum conversation has also changed.
Carel referred to the earlier market noise around electric vehicles and the so-called “death of platinum.” Phoevos explained that the story has moved on from a simple internal combustion engine versus battery electric vehicle debate.
Battery electric vehicles are expected to keep growing, especially in China. But internal combustion engines are likely to remain around for longer than many expected, and hybrid vehicles are gaining momentum across several markets.
Phoevos also acknowledged that internal combustion engines may decline as a percentage of the global vehicle fleet over the next decade. The bigger point is that new applications for PGMs could help offset that decline.
One of the most unexpected parts of the webinar was the link between artificial intelligence and platinum group metals.
Phoevos said this was a major topic during Platinum Week in London, where industry conversations focused on what AI could mean for PGMs.
AI infrastructure depends on physical systems, and many of those systems require materials that can perform under extreme temperatures and demanding operating conditions.
His broader point was that the conversation has moved beyond internal combustion engines. The industry is increasingly asking where else these critical minerals are used, and future-facing technologies are becoming a bigger part of that discussion.
Phoevos said some of the data points presented suggest AI technology could drive millions of ounces of new demand.
That does not make the future certain, but it does make the platinum story more nuanced than a simple EV narrative.
Tharisa is also investing in Karo Platinum in Zimbabwe, which could become a second major cash-generating unit for the group.
Phoevos described Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke as the second-largest geological formation for platinum group metals. From a geological perspective, he said South Africa and Zimbabwe are the places you want to be if you are mining PGMs.
Karo is a major part of that strategy:
Karo also gives Tharisa a way to reduce reliance on the Tharisa mine alone. For larger institutional investors, single-asset concentration and single-jurisdiction risk have been concerns. If Karo comes online as planned, Tharisa believes the business could become larger, more diversified and better recognised for its cash-generating ability.
The project also has a meaningful employment angle. Phoevos said Karo could create around 1,200 permanent jobs and 4,000 contractor jobs, with 99% local employment already reflected in the project.
There are challenges too, including regulatory changes, slower decision-making, capital flow issues and divided investor sentiment toward Zimbabwe. But Phoevos said having the Zimbabwean government as a 15% shareholder has helped create alignment, open engagement and a shared vision for the project.
The webinar also spent time on culture, which is easy to overlook in a mining discussion but important to how Tharisa explains its own success.
Phoevos said people who join Tharisa often feel they can make a difference because they are heard, empowered and able to make decisions. The business still has the controls and governance expected of a listed company, but management wants to preserve the entrepreneurial mindset that helped build it.
That matters because Tharisa is becoming more complex. It is expanding geographically, developing major projects and managing the transition from open-pit to underground mining.
Phoevos also framed the business in terms of wider impact. Tharisa employs close to 5,000 people, and he said that using a 10-times multiplier means the business impacts around 50,000 lives daily.
For him, that gives the work a sense of purpose beyond the commodity cycle.
Toward the end of the webinar, Carel asked what would need to happen over the next two or three years for the market to better understand the Tharisa story.
Phoevos pointed to several markers:
He also said Tharisa trades at a much lower price-to-earnings multiple compared with more established peers, and that management’s aspiration is to move closer to those industry multiples over time.
In plain language, Tharisa believes the market does not yet fully recognise the value of the business it is building.
Whether that view proves correct will depend on execution, commodity markets, project delivery and demand. Mining remains a cyclical and complex industry.
But the webinar made one thing clear: Tharisa is not waiting for perfect conditions before investing.
It is investing because management believes future supply will be constrained, demand is more resilient and diverse than many assume, and platinum group metals may have a bigger role in future technologies than the market currently understands.
From chrome and stainless steel to platinum, hydrogen, data centres and AI, the Tharisa story is about how a mining company positions itself when the world still needs physical materials to build the future.
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