Jaco Prinsloo
Rainmakers & Potstirrers

Jaco Prinsloo

CEO: Sylvania Platinum

www.sylvaniaplatinum.com

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‘The Thaba joint venture combines the strengths and expertise of both companies in the mining and processing industry’

PROBABLY the best measure of Sylvania Platinum’s performance has been the way in which the share price held up against the platinum group metals bear market. As of mid-December Sylvania’s shares were 32% down from the year’s high. Compare that with industry leader Anglo American Platinum – down 42%, and Impala Platinum – down 65%, over the same period. This well-run PGM recovery operation produced 75,469 ounces in the year to June ahead of target and compared with 67,053 oz in financial 2022, and followed that up with a good start to financial year 2024 producing 20,172 oz in the September quarter in line with guidance.

But the highlight of the year was the establishment of the Thaba Joint Venture through which Sylvania will process PGM and chrome ores from historical tailings dumps and current arisings from the Limberg Chrome Mine. Sylvania and 50/50 partner Limberg will split the expected revenue from the joint venture’s forecast annual production of about 13,000 oz of PGMs and 400,000 tons of metallurgical grade chrome concentrate. For Sylvania its share will increase its annual PGM production by about 9% and allow the company to diversify into chrome. The capital and establishment costs of around R600m will be funded initially by Sylvania from its existing cash and first production is expected in the second half of financial 2025.

Prinsloo indicates that Sylvania is still carefully assessing the potential underground Volspruit and Far Northern Limb projects but there are not going to be any swift developments here. A preliminary economic assessment is expected in the third quarter of the current financial year for Volspruit. Whatever the outcome there will be a new chairperson overseeing things with Stuart Murray stepping down in December to be replaced by Eileen Carr.

LIFE OF JACO

He’s a metallurgical engineer with a BSc Engineering in Metallurgy from Pretoria University, a postgraduate diploma in business administration and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. He joined Sylvania in 2012 initially as executive officer: operations and then became MD of South African operations from March 2014 until appointed CEO in March 2020 when predecessor Terry McConnachie retired. Prior to joining Sylvania, he was principal metallurgist at Anglo American for Anglo Operations Limited and then spent eight years with Anglo American Platinum in various senior metallurgical positions.

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