Tharisa PLC (LON:THS) has boasted of “extraordinary resilience and resourcefulness” as it reported its production numbers for the third quarter.
The miner said platinum group metals (PGM) production was up 15.7% to 40,500 ounces in the three months ended September 30, 2020. Chrome concentrate production meanwhile increased by 15.4% to 370,800 tonnes.
It comes as reef mining volumes rose by 8.9% and reef milling volumes increased 14.9%.
READ: Tharisa confirms higher Q2 production
Looking ahead, the company has a stated guidance range of 155,000 to 165,000 ounces for 2021.
The company noted that it recorded 53 positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, of which three are presently active. It said that the infection rate among its workers has equated to less than 1.7%.
"Growing the business and increasing production not just on a quarter on quarter, but a year on year basis despite the challenges of COVID-19, is a tribute to the extraordinary resilience and resourcefulness of all of our employees at Tharisa,” said Phoevos Pouroulis, Tharisa chief executive in a statement.
He added: “Our flagship Tharisa Mine delivered significant operational improvements following the investment in our assets, the ongoing optimisation of the pit, and the flexibility of our processing and distribution capacity.
“Our cost control, together with a robust balance sheet, ensures Tharisa is set to build on this performance as we restart construction of our Vulcan plant and continue to assess complementary opportunities to further de-risk our business.
“Our focus will be on continuously improving the quality of mining, increasing the productivity of our mining fleet and the efficiency of our processing capacity, to deliver further returns for our stakeholders.”