Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Tharisa plc full year results investor presentation. Throughout this recorded presentation, investors will be in listen-only mode. Questions are encouraged. They can be submitted at any time via the Q&A tab that's just situated on the right-hand corner of your screen. Please just simply type in your questions and press send. The company may not be in a position to answer every question it receives during the meeting itself. However, the company can review all questions submitted today and will publish those responses where it's appropriate to do so on the Investor Meet company platform. Before we begin, I would like to submit the following poll, which will just appear on your screens now, and I would now like to hand you over to CEO, Phoevos Pouroulis. Phoevos, good morning, sir.
Good morning, Jake, and welcome everyone to this year-end results presentation for the financial year 2023, ended September of this year. It's a real pleasure to be able to talk about our business to all of you, and again, we appreciate your time. We ask ourselves the question: why mining, why now, and why Tharisa? Mining is under a lot of pressure and lots of scrutiny in terms of its necessity and impact, and it goes back to that old adage, if it's not grown, it's mined. And what is key is that the metals that are mined are critical to a decarbonization strategy for the planet, and these are key critical metals and are unique in their specific applications. Forecasts are that by 2060, minerals and metal demand will double from today.
The challenge is that there's a lack of investment, whether it's Stay-in-Business investment or expansion capital, and certainly new investment for new projects. So we're in this situation where there's a necessity for these metals for the decarbonization strategy and plan of the planet, and yet there's a lack of investment. In fact, these are finite resources and take time and require patient capital. So why Tharisa? We must probably have chosen the more difficult path to be in this industry because we are mine builders. When we look at mining, we look at it differently. We look at it, the impact it has over multi-generations. These are key strategic assets with key strategic commodities that we mine. We look at unlocking value through innovation, applying technology, and potentially unlocking value where others have not seen it or have overlooked it.
We really embrace technology as the enabler for differentiation. I think it's pleasing to report this year that our co-product business model of producing platinum group metals and chrome concentrate is robust and has withstood the challenges that have been presented to us and the industry this year. It's important to note that chrome and PGMs are both designated as critical minerals with high economic importance and have a significant role to play in the decarbonization of the planet. PGMs historically have done a wonderful job of cleaning the atmosphere through auto catalysts and continue to do that. Chrome is essential in the manufacture of stainless steel, and both these commodities are more than 95% recyclable.
So our chairman has this saying, and I thought it would be apt at this point in time to just highlight the fact that mining is not an option, but the way in which we do it is. And I think we're very proud of the impact that we have made at Tharisa and will make in the future in terms of our strategy. When we look at this uncertainty, we unpack it into the headwinds faced and then the tailwinds that supported our business. As we know, living in southern Africa, and particularly South Africa, we've been plagued with load shedding, load curtailment at the mining operations across the country. We have a strategy and a mitigation plan in place.
We have invested already in diesel standby generators and are able to withstand the equivalent of load 6 load shedding on the mine without disruption to our operations. However, with our partnerships with Total Eren and Chariot, we are underway with the building of the 40 MW solar project adjacent to the Tharisa Mine, and the environmental and water use license have been approved. And this will go a long way to mitigate, one, the carbon footprint, secondly, the reliance on grid electricity. We've all witnessed and seen the dire state of the parastatal rail network, and how have we navigated that? We've moved our cargos to road. So historically, we the ratio was the other way around.
Currently, we move 85% of our product by road, and we've also utilized the Mozambican Port of Maputo successfully to make sure that our deliveries are on time and on schedule. I think it goes without saying that the macro environment is uncertain, whether it be geopolitical, inflation, interest rate risks, volatility of commodity prices. Crime and corruption is a real challenge in South Africa, and unprecedented localized weather events. We reported on significant rainfall in the first quarter of this year that we're reporting on. And we've put many mitigation measures in place to handle those events, and I believe we're equipped to deal with those and to date have not had challenges due to inclement weather. And then, over and above that, there is the fiscal and regulatory uncertainty.
These are the challenges we faced during this year. I think what supported us is the co-product business model. The chrome market has been resilient, and we've seen buoyant chrome prices, and in many respects has countered the decline of the PGM basket prices, and Michael will unpack that later in detail. We certainly do believe that the fundamentals or the demand fundamentals for both of these commodities are robust in the medium to long term. We have conviction to invest through the cycles. In terms of the momentum behind platinum, ruthenium, iridium, there's a lot of investment going into hydrogen manufacturing, hydrogen facilities, green steel production, and this benefits platinum group metals.
We're looking at this space very closely to understand where we can unlock value and support this initiative and drive, and potentially be a user of hydrogen in our own operations. The Chinese stainless steel outlook still remains positive and was consistently buoyant during the last 12 months, and we're seeing that in the first quarter of this year. But I think really what underpins possibly a pricing improvement around PGMs is the supply constraint, and we're starting to see cracks in terms of mine suspensions and retrenchments, which are reported on and potentially imminent in terms of implementation. And this ultimately will result in fewer ounces being mined from these deep-level complex mines. With that, the by-product of chrome from the UG2 Reef horizon will also be felt.
So on both fronts, due to supply-side constraints and limitations, we should see fewer ounces and fewer tons meeting demand, and in turn, prices should recover. I think what's also encouraging is bulk freight rates have stabilized in this year, and we've moved away from those very high levels of freight that we experienced in the prior year. Safety is a core value, and I think we pass our condolences on to the terrible tragedy that happened at Impala, and we can see how quickly and how devastating these accidents can be. And in the first quarter, you will recall we had our first fatality in more than six years, and it hit us hard. But what really encourages us is that we've improved on our safety and re-entrenched it as a core value.
To that end, our lost time injury frequency rate at Tharisa Minerals is 0.13 per 200,000 man-hours worked, and Karo Platinum, 0.26 per 200,000 man-hours worked. So there's an overall commitment and improvement in terms of our safety. So when we touch on the highlights, we talk about the long-life assets and the sustainable extraction of the commodities we mine. So we mined 4,200,000 tonnes , slightly down from the prior year, and, this was supplemented by third-party run-of-mine material. PGM production down almost... Well, 19.3% at 144.7 thousand ounces, and chrome production flat at 1,580,000 tonnes.
At Karo Platinum, pilot mining commenced in June 2023, which helped us define the mining methodology and provided us with bulk samples from the Main Sulphide Zone or the platinum-rich zone. Then we also are interrogating and investigating economic extraction of what we refer to as the Base Metal Reef , which sits right above the 3-meter platinum zone. We also undertook an infill drilling campaign to convert some of our resources to reserves. What's really pleasing and really one has to go to site to see is the extent and the span of which the project is encompassed in, which is a 3-square-kilometer expanse. Long-lead items have been delivered and nearing completion. We've poured almost 1,800 cubes of concrete, and we've completed over 500,000 cubes of bulk earthwork.
So a lot of activity, a lot of momentum in Karo. And that leads us to the value sharing and the impact that we make at Tharisa and Karo. Across the group, we employ 5,263 people. The majority at the Tharisa Mine, permanent employees, 1,927. At Karo, 135 employees. And then contractors, you can imagine, has gone up to 2,886 as we're building out Karo, and then we have a number of third-party contractors at the Tharisa Mine. Our female representation is good, and we are looking to improve that at around 26% across the group.
And we've lost no days to industrial action, and we have a very constructive, collaborative engagement with our employees and the representative unions. In terms of education and wellness, it goes without saying that we've got to give back not only to our employees, but our contractors and communities, and we have an open-door policy where we provide facilities, equipment, and sponsorship programs, to upskill and educate those that are keen to improve their standard of education. Our wellness program is well-received. It goes beyond the borders of our employees and into the communities, and there's awareness, campaigns, and support, for various challenges in terms of wellness.
I think when you stand back and we look at Liana, who was a beneficiary of our bursary program and has just qualified as an electrical engineer, and we see that her mother worked for us for more than 10 years and retired this year, it really hits home the impact that our multi-generational mine has on people's lives. As builders of mines, this is really those benefits that we are proud of and really want to share with you today. In terms of value sharing, we've spoken about group employees and contractors, but I think what's key here is the multiplier effect. This business and what you're invested in, and hopefully will invest in, is supporting more than 50,000 people on a daily basis.
It's a significant number when you think about the effort that goes in and the impact that our investments and that our operations have. In the countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe, which have very high unemployment rates, this is a significant impact, and we're proud of it. In monetary terms, the currency inflows into South Africa, some $451.,600,000 , direct and indirect inflows. Global direct taxes and royalties of $58,600,000 , and indirect taxes of $5,600,000 . A significant contributor to the economies within which we operate.
So if we just unpack the high-level numbers, the vital numbers, as we call it, for the year, you'll see that our revenue was only slightly down at $649,900,000 , generating an operating profit of $94,700,000 and an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of $136,800,000 . And Michael has a very, important graph later, which talks about the 42% drop of our EBITDA number from the prior year and the contributing factors. Notwithstanding that, we generated profit before tax of $114,300,000 . And encouragingly, net cash from operating activities at $148,300,000 .
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year of $269 ,000,000, and Michael, again, will unpack that for us. This resulting in an earnings per share of $0.274 and a headline earnings of $0.283. We're very pleased again, to stick to our dividend policy, which is a minimum of 15% of net profit after tax to be distributed in the form of a dividend. We declared a final year-end dividend of $0.02, making that a full-year total of $0.05, some 17.3% of NPAT. Before the question comes about buybacks, let me deal with it now. It is something that is constantly on the agenda, and we debate and discuss it at the board level and executive level.
Certainly, we believe in the merits of our own share and the deeply discounted value that we currently trade at. I think in this volatile environment where commodity prices are moving and our growth ambitions have been extended, we felt that rather stick to our capital discipline and be consistent at this stage without changing our policies and procedures at this point in time. And so we elected to propose this final dividend, which will be voted on at the AGM. I think important, and in this context of volatility, you can see that our PGM basket price for the year was down 26.2%, contributing to some of those lower earnings at $1,893 per ounce.
But on the flip side, met grade chrome price is up 25.8% to $263 per ton. A very welcome number. When we touch on our strategy, and I will expand on this a bit later, I firmly believe that we are living the six pillars of our Vision 2025, which is expanding and rolling out our existing business sustainably. Optimizing our operations through innovation and looking at unique entrepreneurial ways to unlock value, diversification through these downstream projects and innovative solutions, as well as the Karo Project in Zimbabwe. And ultimately, we're looking at our business as an investment of choice and having the impact and benefits that we talk about in enriching people's lives. So just to remind the audience, we have a long life, multi-generational portfolio of assets....
There is a difference in terms of our resources, particularly the Tharisa Mine, whereby we've looked at the constraints, and I'll unpack this in more detail, and we've declared an open-pit life of 13 years. If we'd worked on the depletion model, it would have been 17 years, so we've reduced that by 4 years, but in turn, have increased the underground life of mine to more than 60 years. At Karo, the open pits for phase one cover, you know, a small portion of the almost 24,000 hectares of land, and we've explored only 12% of this potential 96,400,000 ounce resource.
So if we look at our resource endowment, we’re blessed with what we have in terms of what’s in the ground, and really for us, is now to unlock the value like we have at Tharisa, at the Karo project, by looking at things slightly differently. So looking at unlocking value and flexibility, we’ve looked at the optionality at the Tharisa Mine. So some of you will know that we operate from multiple pits. The East pit, which is the main open pit and generates 80% of our feed, and then the West and Far West, which generate the balance of our feed into the processing plants.
Now, due to increased costs of diesel, yellow kit, primarily, the proximity of communities, the limited operating times that we have in terms of the West and Far West mine, and then waste rock dump limitations. We've undertaken a successful scoping study in terms of undertaking an underground vertical decline development model on the west side of our operations, and potentially looking at moving into feasibility study in this next financial year and looking at the capital vote and approval for financial year 2025. What this does is it gives us flexibility in terms of operating on-reef mine development, so minimizing dilution into the processing plants, minimizing or reducing waste rock almost entirely, and allowing us to operate on a 24-hour basis. So it's the vision and the plan for us to run a hybrid model.
So we'll continue with the East pit open pit mining and transition to underground on the West pit in the next 2 years-3 years, and thereby giving us that flexibility of underground operations and open pit. And in turn, as the East pit progresses through time, we will then transition into underground, mechanized Bord and Pillar Mining. So the capital to date is, is really, the studies. We've put $4,6 into drilling, and the feasibility studies in this next financial year. One of the, the offsets here is the renewal and the replacement of the yellow fleet, the mining fleet, which will be phased out as we progress and ramp up the underground operations. So, really value accretive opportunity on the surface, and we'll unpack that in the future.
So moving on to the Karo project, you'll see that Tharisa's increased its equity stake to 75% in Karo Mining Holdings, which in turn owns 85% of Karo Zimbabwe Holdings in Zimbabwe. The balance being owned through Generation Minerals, a company controlled by the Ministry of Finance. It is a tier-one asset, and we'll look at some of the upsides in terms of optimization, but we're looking at producing in excess of 200,000 ounces with significant base metal credits. We've made great progress in terms of the bulk earthworks, civils, and open-pit mining to date. Unfortunately, we have had one lost time injury on site, and it's something that the team are very focused on minimizing and getting to that zero-harm status.
We have almost all of our environmental approvals, mining, processing, bulk water, and power line approvals. I think what's really key is the prioritization of local recruitment, whereby 98% of the staff in Zimbabwe are Zimbabwean, and we look at the skills development program. Like Tharisa, we are investigating with Chariot a 30-megawatt solar project, which is advancing well. The team have been very good in supporting local communities and employees through health, education, and carbon footprint projects such as tree projects at the local schools and primary schools. So the capital cost for the original budget was $391 ,000,000, and you will note that from our prior announcements, we have extended the project by 12 months.
We estimate that this will have an impact of around 10% on that capital number, and that's really the time delay and the owner's costs and some escalation that creep into that delay. In terms of funding, Tharisa has allocated to date $98,600,000 and has a balance of capital that will flow in, a total of $135 ,000,000 commitment to date, and a successful bond listing last year of $36,800,000 . The ring-fenced project funding is well advanced with term sheets signed with ECIC in South Africa at circa $160 ,000,000, and the balance of the funding coming in the form of working capital, prepays and your traditional project finance.
So in terms of an update, the macro environment, and in particular, the PGM basket price, necessitated us to review the timeline, and we pushed out the schedule by 12 months to June 2025. This has allowed us a number of opportunities. Firstly, we've been able to increase the throughput of the processing plant by 10% and targeting over 200,000 PGM ounces. Moreover, and I touched on it earlier on, we have the opportunity to increase our mining width with the Base Metal Reef horizon, which historically was seen as waste, and we're undertaking test work, metallurgical work, and ultimately looking at reducing our cost of mining per unit cost and increasing the outputs of base metals and PGMs from the project. So very exciting.
Furthermore, we've also been able, through lock cycle test work, to improve our PGM recovery by optimizing reagent mix and the process, and that's very encouraging. Like Tharisa, we are updating the existing scoping study for underground at Karo, but this is less advanced than where we are at Tharisa. So we speak about innovation and really we put real capital behind this. To date, we've invested $12,800,000 in property, plants, and equipment, and we have three distinct sites. Arxo Metals beneficiation site, this is where we run our 1 MW PGM smelter on a commercial basis and on a continuous basis. We also have demonstration-scale testing of other initiatives that we're able to demonstrate and optimize.
We have a second site, which is more of your laboratory pilot test work, facilities, and that's Arxo Metals Technology Development Center at one of the local universities. And we collaborate with, with the staff there, and we test alternate processes, before we move them into, larger pilot scale and demonstration scale. And then we're very proud of our Renewable Energy Center, which was, opened earlier this year. And this is where we, we trial and test our energy storage solution, utilizing the commodities that we mine, and we look at different, renewable energies. And this site is adjacent to where the Buffelspoort Solar Project will be built, at the-- adjacent to the Tharisa Mine.
When we look at our decarbonization strategy, of reducing our footprint by 30% by 2030 and becoming carbon net neutral by 2050, we're well on our way to achieving that. The 40-MW solar project, as mentioned, is scheduled for completion in Q1 of 2025. All licenses are in place, and once this is fully commissioned, this will reduce our Scope 2 emissions by more than 30%. So a huge offset there, in terms of our carbon footprint production, just from the solar project. The EPCM has been appointed, and really, this is also a pathway for us to produce greener PGM and chrome concentrates.
In terms of our real exciting strategy of mine to megawatt, we look at the decarbonization pathways, and we look at the solar project, and then post that, we look at how do we store that energy, and find a circularity, in other words, utilizing the commodities that we mine. And we're very pleased to share with you a novel technology called Redox One, which is a long-duration energy storage program, and this is innovative and is proprietary, and we'll unpack that. Furthermore, we're also collaborating with OEM, the fabricators of our yellow mining equipment, testing and trialing new drivetrain technologies, and we have vehicles on site that are being tested and scoped as we speak. So the ultimate dream is the circular economy, utilizing the minerals and metals that we mine to lower our carbon footprint.
And we see a specialized, unique application for most metals in this pathway to a circular economy and decarbonized planet. When we look at PGMs, the catalytic properties are irreplaceable. We also see that battery electric vehicles have a slower uptake, and ultimately, the middle ground between internal combustion engines and battery electric vehicles is a hybrid model. And we see a lot more momentum and energy within that space in terms of being able to bridge the pros and cons of both technologies and provide a cost-effective solution to the population and to the world. And so we see in well, not increased, but consistent demand of PGMs for continuous internal combustion engines in hybrid or large and industrial scale applications.
And then we talk about the hydrogen economy and the application of hydrogen in electrolyzers and fuel cell technologies. Chrome is unique in its requirements. South Africa is blessed with more than 70% of the world's resources, and we account for more than 80, 85% of Chinese imports into their stainless steel industry. And I think it's not well known that stainless steel touches all renewable energy projects, be it solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, hydroelectric, and nuclear, and stainless steel touches almost all sectors and all industries. It's a renewable energy application resource and is recyclable. So, so we see strong, robust demand for chrome and stainless steel going into the future.
And now, with the new application developed and progressed by our Redox One team, which is a wholly owned subsidiary, which has really pioneered a long-duration, static, safe energy storage solution utilizing iron and chromium redox flow technology, and this really embeds our mine-to-megawatt strategy. So this is megawatt-scale storage. It's not here to compete with lithium-ion mobility type of solutions. This is grid-scale type storage, megawatt, 10-megawatt-plus type solutions. This technology is old. It was developed by NASA in the 1970s, and over time, it's been improved, and what's unique about our take on this is the ability for us to utilize our own resource, our own ore, to produce the electrolyte of iron and chromium.
We have a fully dedicated management team based in Dortmund, in Germany, and they have a satellite facility here in South Africa, piloting the first batteries, and we're scaling up and looking to commercialization within the next two years. The demonstration-scale megawatt installations are on track for 2024. So very exciting and really it keeps us motivated around the potential opportunities. At this point, I'd like to hand over to Michelle, who will run through our commodities and the outlooks. Thanks, Michelle.
Thanks, Phoevos. Hello, everybody, and welcome, and thank you for taking the time to join us today. Phoevos has discussed a lot around the commodities that we produce and a lot of detail around the PGMs and chrome. So I think for me, I just really wanna take a few minutes, because I'm very aware that Michael needs to spend some time and detail on the finances, but let's just stop for a moment and just reflect on a fact pattern. Firstly, in terms of PGMs, clearly, one looks at supply and demand. From a supply point of view, there's a lot of commentary happening continuously around our PGM production globally, what's happening in South Africa and Zimbabwe in terms of reduction of supply coming online.
Those producers that are potentially loss-making or lower margins are looking at what their development plans are. So there's no doubt in our mind that on the supply side, there's a reset coming, and it's a function of where we are on price. So firstly, we see some primary supply reduction coming through, which will be a catalyst in terms of PGM pricing in the next 12 months. Recycling is another part of the supply chain. Again, if you look at recycling, you've got to consider two aspects. Firstly, for a recycler, their operating efficiencies and their margins have been reduced as well, given where the pricing is. And then secondly, as a consequence of the pandemic and the global economic situation that we find ourselves in, people are keeping their vehicles longer.
We all know that one's battling your daily kind of costs, and so where an average person would have kept their vehicle for 10 years, they're keeping it for 14 years, which means that the recycling timeline is that much longer. So from a supply side, definitely two very serious constraints coming in, which will certainly affect that. And in an environment where one's living with a very tight balance between supply and demand, there has to be an effect on price. Similarly, if we stop and look at demand, and again here, I'm not even gonna get into the debate of ICE versus BEV versus hybrid, hybrids. We've had that discussion. We just simply got to look at a couple of fact patterns. The first thing is buying patterns of automakers.
We know that during the COVID pandemic, there was erratic supply of inventory, there was uncertainty around production happening, whether you were a miner or whether you were an automaker. So what happened in that environment? It meant that the automakers were using up all the inventory that they had, and they had an erratic buying pattern. They just weren't clear of what the next three months looked like, never mind six or 12. What we are seeing today is a more normalized buying pattern happening. So off the back of the fact that we've seen automotive sales up by 11% over the last year, we're also seeing a regular buying pattern, which bodes well for where we are, again, in managing or understanding those supply-demand fundamentals.
There's no doubt that the very issues that we face in South Africa in terms of grid infrastructure, electricity, and so on and so forth, affect the whole world. So that's got an impact in terms of the ambitions everybody's got around rolling out battery electric vehicles and the practicality of it. But as I said to you at the start, I'm not gonna go into that debate rather than just focus on some of the simple fact pattern that we see coming through. From a chrome perspective, I think... Again, let me go to the next slide. I think one needs to understand that chrome producers, there are primary chrome producers, and there are those chrome producers who are co-producers or byproduct producers.
So, simplistically, your UG2 producers who are producing PGM concentrates are producing chrome concentrates as well, and they benefit of the margin coming out of that product. Similarly, one has to understand that if there is a reduction coming through from a supply point of view in terms of UG2 supply, that will impact chrome supply. So where that leaves us is, even on the supply side, in terms of chrome, we expect to see a tightening happening into the next year. So in spite of the fact that chrome prices are healthy, that there are good margins in it as a consequence of UG2 producers reducing their supply or their production, they're gonna reduce some of their chrome, and what we should see is, at the very least, stable pricing in terms of chrome.
My expectation would be that it would increase slightly. Again, one has to go back to what the demand looks like. From a demand point of view, we've seen stainless steel continue to grow this year between 5% and 8%. Now, we've seen consistent growth in stainless steel over the years. We haven't seen it change. We haven't seen it reduce. We've seen lots of commentary about it, but stainless steel is such a vital part of your and my everyday living, that we continue to see a demand for it, which means that there's a demand for chrome. As a consequence of that, we've seen the chrome market benefiting in terms of pricing.
There are two other factors that have exacerbated matters from a supply point of view in South Africa, bearing in mind that the predominance of chrome supply comes from South Africa. The other two factors, as we know, are electricity, constraints in terms of the grid will affect smaller producer that has deals with load shedding as opposed to load curtailment, and also infrastructural issues and the stuff that we're dealing with in terms of road, rail, port. Those will affect all producers because you need to manage your logistics and your, I suppose, your logistics to customer. That will be constrained for smaller producers because the costs are very different and how you're paying for it in advance clearly has an impact on your cash flow, so you need to manage it.
Putting that aside and assuming it runs, it runs, and it gets to port, and we are moving the material into China, what we have seen because of what's happened in South Africa is erratic supply happening into China. So if you track the port stocks in China over the last 12 months, you'll see that we've been at the lowest levels, probably for the last 10 years, consistently. So you'll see low levels of around 1,600,000 tons, and probably peaking at around 2,400,000 tons. Now, at the peak of the 2,400,000 tons, that's around 4 weeks inventory, which means that the inventory holding in China is low and is very dependent on us getting those vessels through. So when the shipments are erratic and we find in the industry, one month there's...
You know, pick a number, there's 400,000 tons being delivered, and in another month there's 200,000 tons. That impacts that inventory, which is why you see the fluctuation happening. So where we are as of today, and certainly what we see happening into the near future, is that we're gonna continue to see constraints in terms of logistics because of, again, the fact pattern in South Africa. And what that means is that from a chrome economy point of view, and let's talk of pricing, certainly in the medium term, we see continued stable pricing, if anything, slight movements upwards. It, you know, as most things, it will go down slightly, it will go up, but I certainly do expect it to remain stable at these levels over the next 12 months.
So I think with that, I've gone through that really quickly. I'm gonna hand over to Michael so that he can get through the juicy bits in terms of the financial numbers and tell you how he spent the money that we brought in through revenue.
Good. Thank you, Michelle, and good morning to all our participants, and really thank you very much for joining us, as we present our results for the financial year ended 30 September. I think our results really need to be seen in the context of the global macroeconomic environment. There were strong inflationary pressures over the year, and that necessitated central banks increasing interest rates. Now, while the interest rates... Thanks, Michelle. While the interest rates themselves do not impact materially on the results of Tharisa, which is in a net cash position, there are the knock-on effects of the slowing of the global economies, which did impact on both commodity markets and increased volatility within the currency markets.
If we actually look at our current basket of commodities with our co-product production model, both platinum group metals and chrome concentrates, again, it has proven the resilience in delivering on our financial results. Platinum group metal prices, as mentioned earlier, were down 26.2%, but the mid-grade chrome concentrate prices, which is really a late cycle commodity, were up 25.8%. As a consequence of this, we were still able to generate strong cash flow generation with $148,300,000 generated from cash flows, and it enabled us to continue investing, not only in our own operations and sustainability thereof, but also growth assets, and we invested some $97,100,000 during this past year. We did negotiate successfully some new debt facilities, and I'll go into those in a bit more detail later.
There's a $130 ,000,000 term loan and revolving credit facility. A few of us mentioned the successful listing of the bond on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange to part-fund the Karo Platinum project, and we have an agreed term sheet in terms of the Karo Platinum funding for a $160 ,000,000. Also very pleasing is we have continued to maintain our dividend policy of distributing at least 15% of consolidated net profit after tax. If we now start looking at the numbers in some more detail, our total revenue was $649,900,000 , a decrease of 5.3%. On a segmental basis, and look at this on an FCA base, now this ex works, we strip out the shipping and freight costs of the chrome to make it more representative.
Our platinum group metals contributed 37.7% to our overall revenue, and that's on the back of PGM sales of 144,000 ounces and an average basket price of $1,893 per ounce. Rhodium, while the price was under pressure, still made a significant contribution. It is less than 10% of our pool split, but contributed just under 40% of the PGM segmental revenue, followed by the platinum segment at just under 34%.... Chrome contributed 53.1% to our overall FCA revenue. Metallurgical grade comprising some 85% of the total, and there were sales of 1,200,000 tons of chrome concentrates at an average price of $263 per ton.
Specialty grades, and this is a premium product in terms of our foundry and chemical grades, comprised 14.1% of our overall revenue from chrome. Touching on the costs, there were a number of factors that actually contributed to some of the cost pressures within the unit costs. The first of those is that we decided to appoint a mining contractor. It's a short-term contract to assist us in with the waste removal and waste mining. So what that does now is we have the cost now, but we get the future benefits of being able to sustainably access our reef horizons.
In addition, some of the restrictions on access to the pit, whether it was due to weather or proximity of the community, there's a strategic decision taken to effectively purchase and run-of-mine ore, and this meant that the plants were able to continue operating optimally. It wasn't all negative news on the cost front. There's also the positives coming through is, chrome inland logistics and freight costs decreased by some 12%, and this is in respect of the chrome product. So moving the product from mine through to final port destination, either in China or Indonesia, and that decreased down to $81.4 per ton. From an exchange rate perspective, Tharisa Mine does operate in a weak currency environment, and it was a beneficial in this particular case of the rand weakening by some 15.2%, and those benefits flowed through.
So if we then start looking at some of the numbers in detail, reef tonnes mined were down 24.1%, 4,200,000 n tonnes. The cost per reef tonne mined increased by 19.9% to $38.8. Tonnes milled, very pleasing with purchased run-of-mine ore, dropping only about 3.5% to 5,400,000 tonnes, and the consolidated cash cost per tonne milled up 17.7% at $62.2 per tonne. We are a co-product producer of both platinum group metals and chrome concentrates.
But if we're to look at ourselves as a platinum group metal producer only, and we take the credits from the chrome sales against the PGMs, we get an all-in cost per PGM ounce sold on a 6E basis, now there's all the elements included, of $206.7 per ounce. Gross profit for the year amounts to $153,300,000 , and a healthy gross profit margin maintained in all factors concerning the economic environment at 23.6%. I first did mention this slide earlier, and I think it's a very useful slide in how to reconcile between our EBITDA of some $237 ,000,000 at the end of FY 2022, to our current EBITDA of $136,800,000 .
And it's the two red charts bars on the left that really tell a story. That is the PGM volumes, and that is reduction in sales volumes, and the PGM basket price, which reduced by 26.2%. Very pleasing, as we said, with the co-product production, was the chrome price and the increases in that chrome price, partially offsetting those decreases. Mining commodities, that is the purchase of the run-of-mine ore, and that has an impact. And then the processing cost and mining costs, really the inflationary factors coming through. State royalties, while it's been a reduction, is actually on the bad news front of it because of the reduction in the PGM selling prices and therefore the reduction in royalties, and that reconciles through to the $136,800,000 of EBITDA.
We have invested in our sustainability operations and will continue to invest going forward, but not only in our existing operations, but also our growth projects and our R&D. For this past year, we spent $97,100,000 , of which $46,300,000 was capital spent on the Karo Platinum project, the mining fleets, and this is at Tharisa Minerals, the yellow kits in the open pit, $27,300,000 . Then just to touch on research and development and innovation, $3,500,000 was spent on that, capital cost. If we look at the year ahead of us, we have budgeted $79,100,000 . This is excluding Karo.
I'll touch on that separately, of which $40,100,000 is going to the mining fleet, and you'll see an increase in our R&D and innovation to $7 ,000,000 as certain of our projects start nearing commercialization. We also exclude deferred stripping in this particular number, and then if you look at Karo Platinum, Phoevos did go through some detail on the capital and capital costs. If everything was aligned in terms of closing out the funding, and we're all very well aware of the challenges with the current, PGM price and the address for the Karo Platinum project, we'll be looking to spend $244 ,000,000 on capital on Karo Platinum.
Our balance sheet remains healthy, and I really do believe that it puts us in a position to deal with the uncertainties in the current commodities price cycle that we are busy facing. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $269 ,000,000. Just to mention that that does include $80 ,000,000 of the term loan. We drew that down in September, so both the cash and the debt include that $80 ,000,000. For those who reconcile back to the face of the balance sheet, you need to also add in a other financial asset. There's a certain amount, about $14 ,000,000, that's restricted cash flow from a lender's point of view.
They require minimum cash to be held, and that sits as their other financial asset. Net cash flows from operations, $142,600,000 , and a net cash and cash as of the take of the debt, $139,700,000 and $129,400,000 . I have touched on the new facilities, so it's an $80 ,000,000 term loan and a $50 ,000,000 revolving credit facility. The $50 ,000,000 remains undrawn, and as part of that facility, we are required to hedge certain of our platinum palladium production to match the capital repayments. And that is on a 12-month rolling basis, so not for the full duration of the 42 months, and as one month drops off, we then have to enter into a hedge for the following month.
Of our total debt, 90.4% is dollar-denominated and 9.6% is rand-denominated. Just touching on some of the ratios, net debt to EBITDA -0.9, and the current ratio is still a very healthy 2.2. I think the chart on the right really sets out the composition of the overall debt. The term loan, it does have an accelerated debt repayment profile over the next twelve months of 55%. Asset-backed facilities, this is the financing for the yellow fleet, 23%, and the VFEX, it's one of 19.5%. It's interesting to reflect back for a moment in that the bond actually listed on the sixteenth of December, and we've just made our second coupon payment on that particular bond.
It's the first of its kind and the highest raised on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange to date. If we also look at the uncertainties going forward, what are... What is our capacity in terms of undrawn facilities? Some $81,400,000 . This includes revolving credit facilities, overdrafts, and asset-backed finance facilities that we have. In addition to that, $20 ,000,000 in trade finance, which is pre-shipment and post-shipment finance associated with chrome and the chrome market. With a strong chrome pricing environment, as well as a high interest rate environment, we took a decision not to utilize that funding, and there's been no need to draw on it, so it still is available for us to draw.
As mentioned, I'm very pleased that we've maintained our dividend policy, and the board has approved a final dividend of $0.02 per share, which, taken with the interim dividend of $0.03 per share, gives us a total proposed dividend for the year of $0.05 per share. A dividend payout ratio slightly ahead of our minimum of 15% at 17.3%, and a dividend yield would then sit at 6.5%. That's a very high-level overview of the financial results for the financial year, and I'd like to hand back over to Phoevos. Thank you.
Thank you, Michael. This leads us to the conclusion of our presentation, whereby we give guidance for the financial year 2024. We're guiding platinum group metals production on a 6E basis of 145,000-155,000 ounces, and this looks low in light of our aspirations to achieve 200,000 ounces. We've based this forecast on the ore mix we received in this last financial year, which was predominantly oxidized, and in an oxidized form, our recoveries are impacted negatively. However, on the flip side, we are forecasting a decent growth in chrome concentrate productions from 1,580,000 tons to between 1,700,000 tons-1,800,000 tons.
Really, that's the improvements in terms of Vulcan plant recoveries and overall, processing plant recoveries and stabilization of more consistent feed going into the plant. So we believe on the PGMs, there's some upside potential, and chrome, we believe, well, we're on track. If we look at the first two months of our production and, all things going equal and according to plan, in December, we'll be on track to meet that guidance. In terms of, Karo Platinum, we've spoken about the extension, and really what's the focus of the team now is to secure the funding to make sure that the, the project can be, executed on the extended timeline. And that's really where, we guide Karo. The existing packages will continue, in terms of, long lead items, civil works, and earthworks, in parallel.
So we present this, I think every year at this time, and it doesn't require much explanation other than to say that, comparatively speaking, we still offer a deeply discounted value proposition. But when we look at our key investment case criteria, we're involved in strategic commodities. We certainly have the conviction and belief that demand for PGMs and chrome will continue, and in a supply-constrained economy, being a low-cost producer will stand us in good stead, and we'll be able to benefit from higher prices going into the future. When we look at our assets, and we look at Karo coming online, albeit later, it does double our output of PGM production. So we've become a more significant player in the PGM space and our chrome business stable and a key supplier into those vital economies.
What we've worked really hard on is operational flexibility, unpacking the underground mining, looking at our open pit strategies, stripping ratios going forward, and really looking at our cost structure and making sure we're future-proof and we continue to remain in the lowest cost quartile. And a lot of that comes through technology and diversification of processes, and part of that is the approach to the resources, whether it's open pit and parallel as a hybrid model, which is really where we're heading into the next 2-3 years. Our platforms work exceptionally well, and Michelle touched on the logistics team and their competence and ability to move product in a very difficult environment. With that comes a very astute and capable marketing team that are front-facing with end users globally in the distribution of our chrome products, primarily.
Then I think it's important to hammer home the capital discipline. We are responsible custodians of our capital. We are able to invest in our existing business. We're able to grow through innovation and organic growth, and also support larger growth aspirations, and then importantly, return value to shareholders. I think that's something we're very proud of, and with that, I'd like to hand over to Q&A, and Jake, back over to you.
Perfect. Phoevos, thank you very much indeed, and Michael and Michelle as well. Thank you very much indeed for your presentation this morning. Ladies and gentlemen, please do continue to submit your questions just by using the Q&A tab that's situated on the right-hand corner of your screen. But just while the team take a few moments to review those questions that were submitted already, I would like to remind you that a recording of this presentation, along with a copy of the slides and the published Q&A, can be accessed via your investor dashboard. Ilja, as you can see there in the Q&A tab, we have received a number of questions from investors that were both pre-submitted ahead of today's event, as well as during the live meeting as well.
If I may just hand over to you just to share the questions with the team, and if I pick up from you at the end, that would be great. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Let me let me get going with the questions. Michael, let's start with you. There was a question around our need to hedge some of our PGMs as part of our debt facilities. Could you go into just a little bit more detail with regards to how much we need to hedge what prices, and how the hedge actually works?
Great. I think I'm back online. Thank you for that. In terms of the actual hedging, what we're required to do is it's a monthly debt repayment, and we are required to hedge the capital amount of that repayment using platinum palladium only, in terms of what you need to hedge, and it's a rolling 12 months. So we just keep right ahead. As one hedge drops out, we then take out the next hedge, for the subsequent payments. We do have an accelerated debt repayment profile, so the current hedging is probably sitting at about 25% of our overall PGM production. That would drop quite significantly going into the new financial year, probably to about 15% for that year.
Pricing at the moment, actually, at the end of the financial year, we had a fair value adjustment, a favorable one, so the pricing is good. When the prices go down, you do get to benefit, and that was some $4 ,000,000 of benefit that we received in terms of the pricing. So just if I have a look at the average pricing, if I recall correctly, and it's subject to my recollection on this at the moment, I think platinum, we were hedging about $929 on average over the 12-month period, as at 30 September, and palladium at some $1,250 odd dollars an ounce. So in the money at the moment, but things do turn.
Thank you. Staying with you, Michael, technical accounting question. Non-controlling acquisition, can you clarify the non-controlling interest in accounts? Is this simply the value up to May 2023 when acquisition occurred, and for next accounts, will there be no non-controlling interest in accounts following acquisition?
Okay. Your non-controlling interest effects in the accounts are related to the Karo Platinum investment. So at this point in time, we own 75% of Karo Mining Holdings, so therefore, we've got a 25% minority. Karo Mining Holdings owns 85% of Karo Platinum indirectly as an intermediate company, and the government of Zimbabwe, through Ministry of Finance and, through Generation Minerals as a vehicle they use, owns 15%. So that is a non-controlling interest, so that non-controlling interest will be on the accounts going forward. So we did... Sorry, just to go back a little bit in history, we did acquire the 100% of the shareholding in Tharisa Minerals, so everything else is wholly owned.
Thank you so much. Question for you, Phoevos. I'm putting three questions into one. It all relates to the opportunities at Tharisa Minerals and the mine itself, some questions around a slightly disappointing production over the last year, and what are the plans in terms of rectifying this, also in line with previously stated targets of achieving those? How do you intend of going from the current output to the higher outputs that we've previously spoken to the market about?
Yeah, and I think it's a fair question. Our performance was below guidance and certainly not in line with what we would like to achieve, particularly on the PGM production side. I think when one puts the challenges and the issues we had to contend with right from the first quarter, where we were caught with unprecedented rainfall, and we were on the back foot pretty much from the first quarter of the year, trying to play catch-up and processing sub-optimal ore to keep the plants operational, and yet still yielding the results we did. I think we're pleased with the outcome, and especially the team that we have that are committed, and innovative, and creative in terms of being able to keep the mills turning. We milled slightly less than last year, 5,400,000 tons.
So the three levers we have, and they're already embedded in our business, is one, throughput quality of the reef horizons that we mine, headgrade of PGMs, headgrade of chrome, and the fact that we need to process unoxidized ore. And this last year, as I mentioned, we processed a large portion, majority of oxidized ore from a lot of third-party material inventories that we had on stockpile from the beginning of our operations. So not an ideal scenario, but taking that into account, I think the team have done exceptionally well in terms of that. Now, looking forward, and I think that's important, where do we see ourselves and how do we see ourselves growing?
So in terms of chrome, we certainly believe in the 2 ,000,000 ton potential, and along those three levers, plus some of the campaigns that we've got in terms of the Vulcan plant getting up to potential. We've seen big improvements in recoveries and yields in the Vulcan plant, with stability of the process. It's a multi-stage process, and understanding how the components work and impact each one sequentially. There are some SIB programs in the Vulcan plant itself, and backwardly integrated into Genesis and Voyager to improve our chrome output. And I think, you know, we're on track to achieve some really good performance results on the chrome side. The PGMs, we've proven, and we know that we can deliver over 80% recovery with consistent feed grade.
So it's really all about that feed and, being fresh ore that we process. Our plants are very well engineered and can cope with the lower headgrade, but require consistency and require a fresh ore. So we with all those levers in play and being able to operate on a continuous, uninterrupted basis without power surges, without weather interruptions, we can see ourselves in the next 2 years, getting closer to that, 2 ,000,000 ton and 200,000 ounce target that we set ourselves, and really it's ingrained in our aspirations to achieve. With the underground mine coming into play, in fact, the quality of the ore improves because there's less dilution, and I think one of the questions I saw was: Is it going to be able to meet the requirements?
And the answer is yes. The way we're scheduling it, we'll continue to run the open pit on the east side and we'll transition on the western side to underground, and the two together, collectively, will provide adequate feed into the plants and the correct quality, and then we will supplement once. We will continue with the development of the east underground portal at the appropriate time as we start nearing the end of life for the east pit. So very well thought out and planned, ultimately looking to unlock value beyond the current state. Ilja, have I answered all the questions?
Yes, there is a follow-up on the underground, with regards to, the complexity. I think you've addressed the complexities and also the dilution in terms of going underground, but there is a question around capital, given that we are developing Karo. Where do we stand on capital if we go underground, and do we have an estimate for CapEx yet on the underground?
Yeah. So a very good question, and yes, underground portal development does require CapEx. And the beauty is that within a few months, you're generating income from your development because you're on reef mining. So it's not sinking a vertical shaft, this is a decline shaft. So within a couple of months of setting up your infrastructure and driving your barrels, you will be generating reef, and we call that development ore. And that then compensates for the development costs or the capital costs. So we estimate peak funding in light of the fact that we're generating reef tons, circa ZAR 1 ,000,000,000, and that's over a 24-month period. So really within our capacity to fund internally. When you consider also that we're not replacing a full yellow mining fleet.
You saw Michael's CapEx number for yellow fleet replacement and rebuilds of $40 ,000,000. So it's in that realm, it's within that ballpark.
Thank you. With regards to the Karo development fee was in the event of continued difficult PGM market, are there any plans to continue delaying Karo or executing any optimization scaled-down mining studies to reduce both CapEx and operating costs?
Yeah, I mean, it's a very good question. Certainly, subject to us securing the funding and market conditions improving, there will be an iteration of an extended project, whereby we would optimize, continue to optimize, continue with the programs that are in place and that, and that are funded. And I think it's key to point out that we haven't committed beyond the funding that's in place already. So the program, as it stands today, is linked directly to the capital that's been invested and not beyond that. So we haven't appointed the mining contractor to start work, as that is a big project and is a five-year contract. So those type of commitments are held back until the funding is secured for the project.
But yes, to answer the question directly, if conditions do not improve, there will be a further extension of the project.
Thank you. A question for you, Michelle, more on the operating side, one at the back end. With regards to exports, which harbors do we use, and do you have any indication how much we've exported through Maputo? And then more on the front end, are there plans in place to continue buying third-party ore into the operations for the current financial year?
... Sure. So firstly, as it relates to the ports, we ship through Richards Bay, Durban, as well as Maputo. So historically, we were predominantly through Richards Bay, and we took a decision some 18 months ago to give ourselves more flexibility, and we've been able to move successfully through Maputo. So at this stage, we're probably moving around 42% of our materials through Maputo, and it's going well. In terms of buying in run-of-mine, yes, it is something that we continuously look at. And again, you know, one looks at what you've got in terms of the resource, what the planning is on mining, and there's a function of economics that drive it in terms of pricing, getting the best grade. So as Phoevos said, whilst we did get some oxidized ore during the year, that we understood that.
We knew some of that was coming. It's not something that you like, but you knew it was coming. So we will continue to look at how to blend the appropriate reef mix ahead of those plants. So yes, we'll continue buying in some run-of-mine, and we'll manage it together with our own reef. Thanks, Ilja.
Thank you very much. Phoevos, question for you. 2, 2-pointed. 1 is around our own beneficiation strategies and what contracts do we have in place, and when will we see benefits of our own beneficiation strategy? And in line with beneficiation, this relates to the solar plant. Can you explain the cost of the solar plant and how it works with our partners on the solar plant?
Yeah, sure. So I'll start with the solar plant. So it's an off-balance sheet contract. We commit to a 15-year PPA, a purchase of power agreement, at a pretty decent discount to the current Eskom tariff. It does have escalation embedded in that contract, but it is taken that it will continue to be competitively priced in terms of cost per kilowatt hour. So the capital for the project is circa ZAR 800 ,000,000, which is funded by the consortium of Total, Chariot, and H1, and they fund that, and we sign the PPA, a 15-year PPA with them. So a very nice strategic fit, whereby we're not investing our capital, but we are substituting or replacing Eskom power with renewable green power at a discount.
So there is a saving on an annual basis that's been calculated, and unfortunately confidential due to, competitive reasons, but, but we're looking forward to those savings. And importantly, with our battery technology, once commercialized, we'll be able to utilize that solar-generated power, at, beyond, daylight and into, into the night. So that's something we're very excited about. And then, Ilja, the first question?
Was all around our beneficiation-
Yes.
- particularly the PGM beneficiation and our off-takers.
Yeah, sure. So currently, we sell our PGMs to Northam and Sibanye, which is publicly known on an equal basis, and those continue for a couple of years each. We have completed a feasibility study on the downstream beneficiation, the smelting, and we have recently had a breakthrough in our unique beneficiation or refining of base metal and PGMs, which is very exciting, and we'll be reporting on that in the new year. Now, in light of our strategy, the PGM market, where it stands today, reduces the margins, and one has to look at being capital efficient in terms of those downstream initiatives.
So we have the original feasibility study, and we are busy cost engineering it now, and looking at refining it down and potentially going into smaller modular units. So that's something that's in the pipeline, and certainly the 1-megawatt process with the converter has proven that the processing is viable. It's now managing, one, the capital cost, and two, the operating cost. And this is also really important with the renewable energy coming in to Tharisa, looking at green PGM production, or at the very least, partially green, utilizing some of the wheeled solar energy or wind energy that is available through the network. So yes, it's still intact. However, the margins have reduced significantly due to the basket price, and so it's necessitated us revisiting the capital and operating costs.
Thank you. Staying with you, Phoevos, more with regards to shareholder returns. A comment here around the dividend being somewhat disappointing, but also, shareholders asking when are they going to see some of the returns, and obviously that relates to commodity prices also. But on the other hand, in the same line, is the company not a takeover target given the valuation metrics that we are dealing with?
Yeah, so let's talk about our dividend policy to start with. It is fairly conservative, and it's linked to the profitability of the company and in turn makes it affordable to the business. So it allows us to continue with our strategy of investing in our business growth and returning some, and obviously not enough, value to shareholders. But and we've been consistent since we've listed and started paying a dividend in the UK, which was 2016. You know, we've been consistent with that. Now, is there room for improvement? Certainly something that we consider and debate going forward. In terms of the value to shareholders and the valuation of our business and returns.
Yeah, certainly at, at these deeply discounted levels, if I were a competitor, I'd certainly be looking at opportunities of consolidation. Having said that, we're not, we're not for sale. We, we want to see this business reflect its true intrinsic value in the capital markets, and everything we're doing is, you know, consistent, measured, and planned for us to deliver on, on what we commit. And ultimately, you know, the numbers speak for themselves, and, and we'd be judged on that, and, and we believe that the price will follow in time.
Thank you. Maybe, Phevos, just to finish off with some of the questions, and I'm gonna paraphrase a couple of these into one, because they relate around what keeps you awake at night? What are your achievements, and what are the complexities that you, that you're dealing with? Maybe sort of summarize the challenges that you've dealt with and the success factors that you look forward to over the next year before we close off.
Sure, and I think it's a relevant question, considering the environment we operate in. It really is contextual when we look at South Africa as our main operating jurisdiction. Mining operations are under attack from all sorts of interest groups, whether they be criminal syndicates, whether they be community-related requirements. Where government has failed to provide services and support for communities, mining companies are looked at to provide that relief and that support. So there's huge expectation, huge pressure on mining businesses, and it comes from all fronts. Over and above that, we have erratic electricity supply. We have recent spikes and drops in terms of feed into our processing plants. So these are things we have to contend with on a daily basis.
So the environment is challenging, the logistics environment we've spoken about. And I think what really gives me hope, and let's talk about the positive, is we have a phenomenal team that are dedicated, committed, and make a plan. You know, South Africans are resilient and robust, generally speaking, and I think we've embedded that culture in our business of looking outside the box and finding solutions that are maybe may not be obvious. So that gives me great hope and confidence that it's not just a small team. We're a broad team, and the dedicated teams in each of these businesses. Our business has grown.
You've seen the numbers of employees, and we have key strategic people, experts in their field, driving each of these businesses, and they know very well what the expectations are for them to meet our, our global or consolidated, outlook. I'm also very excited about the technology aspect and, and the, the move into a renewable, type, of, of solutions. Redox One has huge potential, in terms of its application. Its costs per kilowatt hour of storage is highly competitive, and, we have seen remarkable interest from, from, all over the world in terms of partnerships, whether they be, you know, first-class universities to big parastatals looking for demonstration scale units. So we see a beautiful link of producing the chrome concentrate, converting it into electrolyte, and providing this energy storage solution, which in our own home country here, is desperately needed.
So potentially, a real winner for us. And then all the other initiatives that we don't talk about that are operating in the background. The R&D teams are working on novel, unique approaches to unlocking value. So yeah, that gives us hope and excitement, and we love what we do, albeit challenging. Every day is a different obstacle and challenge, but it keeps us focused, it keeps us committed, and I'm really grateful for the team, ultimately, that is Tharisa.
Perfect. Ilja, Phoevos, Michael, Michelle, if I may just jump back in there. Thank you very much indeed for addressing all of those questions that, that came in from investors this morning. And of course, if there are any further questions that do come through, we'll make these available to you immediately after the presentation has ended, just for you to review, to then add any additional responses, of course, where it's appropriate to do so, and we'll get all those responses out on the platform. But Phoevos, perhaps before really just looking to redirect those on the call to provide you with their feedback, which I know is particularly important to yourself and the company, if I could please just ask you for a few closing comments to wrap up with, that'd be great.
Yeah. Thank you, Jake. Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you for your, your time and attendance. I know we've run over time today. You know, I really think one has to look through the current challenges and the current obstacles that we're facing. Commodities are cyclical, and we are in a low point in the PGM cycle, and we have to look through it. And so when one invests in these long life projects, you have to be able to invest through and see through to the other side. And we have no doubt that these precious metals will be in demand for the foreseeable future in various applications and in many instances, applications we are not aware of at this stage because of their unique properties.
So we have a conviction in what we do, the impact that we have, and really that's what keeps us going. If you look at our mission statement, enriching lives through developing the resources company of the future, this is really what we're doing, balancing the extractive industry with technology and beneficiation and application to enrich and make a meaningful impact to not only our employees, but the host communities that we operate in, the countries that we operate in. So with that, I'd like to thank you all for your time and wish you well, and a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.
Phoevos, that's great, and thank you once again for updating investors this morning. Could I please ask investors not to close this session, as you'll now be automatically redirected, for the opportunity to provide your feedback in order that the management team can really better understand your views and expectations. This will only take a few moments to complete, but I'm sure will be greatly valued by the company. On behalf of the management team of Tharisa plc, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation. That now concludes today's session, so good morning to you all.