Southern Palladium completes Pre-Feasibility Study at Bengwenyama, eyes mining operations
Published March 03 - 2025
Southern Palladium has announced the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on the Bengwenyama platinum group metals (PGM) project, marking the end of a successful two-year drilling exploration programme and representing a major step in the transition from exploration to mine development. The new production will deliver several critical metals in the clean energy transition, such as palladium, rhodium and platinum.
The latest development follows the submission of a Mining Right Application to the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in late 2023 and a subsequent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) initiated last July. Mining rights are expected to be issued by the local authorities in the coming months. The applications provide for operations at the Nooitverwacht 324 KT and Eerstegeluk 327 KT farms, which are located adjacent to each other in Limpopo Province and cover an area of 5,280 hectares. The scope of the application outlines the mining of PGMs, gold, copper, chrome, cobalt, silver and nickel.
The Pre-Feasibility Study delivered a substantial mineral resource estimate of 40.25 Moz. These figures represent a 60% increase on late 2023 estimates of 25.11 Moz. The project is well primed from an economic standpoint thanks to its low-cost structure, suggesting a positive outlook for future funding and development.
Founded in 2020, Southern Palladium is a PGM company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Its primary holding is a 70% share in the Bengwenyama project, owned through an equal interest in Miracle Upon Miracle Investments (MUM), which holds the entire exploration tenement. Bengwenyama is a palladium and rhodium-dominated project on the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, which is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the earth’s crust. The complex is home to some of the richest ore deposits on earth, including the world’s largest reserves of PGMs, representing 70% of all known resources. Southern Palladium is listed on both the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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