The Arxo Business consists of three separate units, all critical in the pit to port strategy that sees Tharisa maximise the output from its resource.
Arxo Resources is the trading division of the Company, responsible for linking global buyers to our products, Arxo Logistics not only ensures that our product is delivered to the client but is critical in assisting movement of goods to the mine. Arxo Metals is the research division, taking projects such as the Challenger Plant and Vulcan fine chrome recovery plant from laboratory scale to commercial production.
Arxo Metals is the beneficiation, research and development arm of the Group. Arxo Metals conducts extensive research into technologies and downstream beneficiation opportunities that can potentially improve yields and recoveries at the Tharisa Mine. Its core focus is creating increased value PGM and chrome products through expanding and optimising the Group’s processing operations.
Arxo Metals operates a comprehensive beneficiation site near Brits, 40 km from the Tharisa Mine. Incorporated at the beneficiation sites is the Company’s 1 MW DC furnace, owned by Tharisa Minerals, which produces PGM alloy, and is continuing its research work into refining processes. The beneficiation site also houses other metal production facilities, in line with the Company’s stated strategy of maximising value for the raw materials it produces and research facilities for energy production and storage.
Having grown from a complement of two people, Arxo Metals at its Brits facility employs 161 people, of which 31% are female, with three students on site undergoing vocational training. The site moved to a 24/7 roster as of April 2023.
Chrome alloy production has traditionally been produced by smelting chrome ore and producing ferrochrome, which is then remelted in furnaces and alloyed to produce various chrome-containing alloys. The ferrochrome smelting process is electricity intensive. Arxo Metals process not only sees this proprietary chrome alloy production requiring less power but, with the recent signing of a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) of wheeled renewable energy with Etana Energy Proprietary Limited (Etana), Arxo Metals believes that the drive for “greener” chrome from mine to final alloy production, is attainable.
Arxo Metals is the beneficiation, R&D arm of the Group. Arxo Metals conducts extensive research into technologies and downstream beneficiation opportunities that can improve yields and recoveries at the Tharisa Mine. Its core focus is creating increased value for PGM and chrome products through expanding and optimising the Group’s processing operations.
This is in line with Tharisa’s business philosophy and ethos focused on maximising the economic value of the commodities it mines, and as such the Company beneficiates its chrome. The production of PGM alloys, and now chrome alloys, are vital cogs in creating the circularity the Company strives for when beneficiating its commodities
Arxo Metals operates a comprehensive beneficiation site near Brits, 40 km from the Tharisa Mine. Incorporated at the beneficiation sites is the Company’s 1 MW DC furnace, owned by Tharisa Minerals, which produces PGM alloy and is continuing its research work into refining processes. In August 2024, Arxo Metals successfully produced 40 tonnes of chrome alloy from a unique and proprietary process developed by its R&D team.
Arxo Metals successfully developed the proprietary processes to produce specialty chrome (chemical and foundry grades at the Challenger Plant) and for the recovery of fine chrome particles at the Vulcan Plant, with further plants in commercial production at the Tharisa Mine. It has developed a proprietary process to produce chrome alloy direct from smelting Tharisa-mined chrome. Using a pilot facility, it has proven the feasibility of the process. The first 40 tonnes of alloy produced using chrome from the Tharisa Mine were sold to a downstream customer producing chrome alloy products, and further contracts have been fulfilled, with chrome alloy production continuing. While developing these PGM and chrome alloys, Arxo Metals has created over 100 job opportunities in the pilot facility in the Madibeng area of the North West province
Arxo Metals owns the Challenger Plant, which is integrated into Tharisa Minerals’ Genesis Plant. The Challenger Plant is dedicated to producing chemical-grade and foundry-grade concentrates.
Specialty-grade concentrates carry more stringent specifications and, therefore, fetch a higher selling price. Arxo Metals has an off-take agreement to sell its concentrates to customers in the chemical and foundry industries. Arxo Metals accounted for producing 77.4 kt of chemical-grade chrome concentrate (2023: 72.6 kt) and 9.9 kt of foundry-grade chrome concentrate (2023: 11.8 kt) in FY2024.
In the year under review, Arxo Metals made great strides in furthering its objectives of finding opportunities in the energy space. As such, the Arxo Metals Renewable Energy Centre (AMREC) was established as an independent unit of Arxo Metals, focusing on energy storage solutions using our commodities, including long-duration scalable storage solutions.
The Arxo team was instrumental in Tharisa entering a long-term PPA to procure wheeled renewable energy for the Tharisa Mine.
The 15-year agreement with Etana Energy Proprietary Limited (Etana) will see Etana provide up to 44% of the Tharisa Mine’s electricity energy demand via wheeled energy from wind and solar farms in the Western Cape and Northern Cape using the existing electricity transmission grid. The wheeled energy is planned to come on stream in 2026. This transaction will enable the Tharisa Mine to manage its power costs better and benefit from the renewable energy certificates arising from the transaction.
This wheeled energy will complement the Tharisa Mine’s 40 MW solar power plant being developed by TotalEnergies Renewables South Africa Proprietary Limited and Chariot Transitional Power South Africa Proprietary Limited, which is designed to provide 30% of Tharisa Minerals energy needs.
Notably, the Etana PPA and the solar project will ensure that Tharisa Minerals’ drive to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030 is well within reach while simultaneously guaranteeing predetermined power costs for a portion of power needs, with up to 76% of Tharisa Minerals’ energy needs to be provided by renewable energy from 2026 onwards under these agreements.
Arxo Resources, with a robust, established platform of global customers, including stainless-steel and ferrochrome producers and commodity traders, has the exclusive right to sell the metallurgical grade chrome concentrate produced by Tharisa Minerals to customers in China, Indonesia and other international markets.
Arxo Resources’ operations scale allows for direct access to market and price discovery. Its established contact with customers also creates an excellent platform for additional sales of third-party products.
In FY2024, Arxo Resources sold 1.7 Mt (FY2023: 1.5 Mt) of metallurgical grade chrome concentrates, of which Tharisa Minerals produced 1.5 Mt.
Arxo Logistics provides an integrated logistics platform that reduces the risk and costs of transporting concentrates. It manages the road transportation of Tharisa Minerals’ PGM concentrates to Northern Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater and the long-haul transportation of chrome concentrates from the Tharisa Mine to international customers through bulk and container shipping. Due to inland logistical constraints on the rail network, Arxo Logistics expanded its footprint and operating ports over the past three years and beyond to ensure greater flexibility and supply certainty for global customers.
Arxo Logistics ships via Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal, Durban ports and the Maputo Port.
All material was delivered by Arxo Logistics to customers and off takers on time.
Arxo Logistics shipped a total of 1.7 Mt (FY2023: 1.5 Mt) of chrome concentrate in FY2024, primarily to main ports in China and Indonesia, including third-party materials.
