Pan African Resources Plc - Operational Update ahead of year ending 30 June 2026
Pan African Resources PLC
(Incorporated and registered in England
and Wales under the Companies Act 1985
with registered number 3937466 on 25 Pan African Resources Funding Company February 2000 ) Limited
Share code on LSE: PAF Incorporated in the Republic of South
Africa with limited liability
Share code on JSE: PAN
Registration number: 2012/021237/06
ISIN: GB0004300496
Alpha code: PARI
ADR ticker code: PAFRY
(‘Pan African’ or the ‘Group’ or the
‘Company’)
OPERATIONAL UPDATE AHEAD OF YEAR ENDING
Pan African is pleased to provide its shareholders and noteholders with an operational update ahead of the financial year ending
HIGHLIGHTS
-- Improvement in safety statistics with continued focus on safety
initiatives
-- Record annual and half-year gold production
o Increase of ~40% in annual gold production to approximately 275,000oz,
in line with the lower end of FY26 production guidance of 275,000oz to
292,000oz (FY25: 196,527oz)
o Material increase in gold production in FY26H2 compared to FY26H1
(~14% increase) to 147,000oz (FY26H1: 128,296oz)
o Excellent production performances from the Elikhulu Tailings
Retreatment Plant (Elikhulu) and Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR)
surface operations and the Evander and Barberton Mines underground
operations offset slower than anticipated ramp up of production from
Tennant Mines
o Tennant Mines FY27 production expected to increase significantly as
the operation commences mining of the White Devil deposit
-- Despite inflationary pressures, the Group is expected to achieve
full-year all-in sustaining cost (AISC) guidance of US$1,870 /oz (at an
exchange rate of US$/ZAR:17.00)
-- Record operating cash flow generation with Group projected cash position
of ~US$220 million at the end of FY26
o Impacted by strategic investment of US$10.3 million in CuFe Limited
and securing strategic cyanide supplies (US$7.0 million )
o The Group is now in a net cash position (net debt of US$46.2 million
at 31 December 2025 ), with the only outstanding debt being the
domestic medium-term notes (DMTNs) of US$49.7 million
-- Measures in place at all operations to mitigate potential fuel and
reagent shortages resulting from Middle East conflict
-- FY27 production guidance of 280,000oz-302,000oz at an AISC of between
US$2,075 /oz and US$2,175 /oz (at an exchange rate of US$/ZAR:17.00)
o AISC estimates allow for above inflation increases for reagents,
electricity and other key inputs
o Further production increases are expected in later years, primarily
driven by production growth from Tennant Mines and the Mogale Tailings
Retreatment (MTR) surface operations
-- The proposed acquisition of Emmerson Resources LimitedTennant Creek mineral field is expected to be concluded
during July 2026 .
PRODUCTION
-- Record Group gold production
o Increased throughput and gold recoveries at MTR, an excellent
production performance from Elikhulu together with improved mining
grades and orebody accessibility at the Evander and Barberton Mines
underground operations offset lower than anticipated ramp-up of
production from Tennant Mines
o At Tennant Mines in Australia , blending of open pit ore sources with
historic Crown Pillar Stockpile (CPS) material resulted in the head
grade improving to ~1.5g/t (FY26H1: 1.3g/t). During the last quarter
of FY26 the operation is expected to achieve annualised gold
production of approximately 45,000oz
# Capital allocated to the Nobles plant for a fixed crusher circuit,
secondary mill and a belt filter for dry stack tailings as well as
mining of the White Devil deposit to improve future production, with
forecast FY27 production guidance of between 48,000-52,000oz.
Surface operations
-- Production at MTR improved substantially in FY26H2. The previously
reported calcine layer identified in the source material continues to
impact both grade and recoveries. The operational plan, however,
anticipates mining through the last of the calcine material during the
FY27Q1 production period
o Production is expected to reach approximately 30,500oz for FY26H2,
delivering an estimated production of ~52,000oz for FY26
o The Soweto Cluster definitive feasibility study (DFS) is on track for
completion by June 2026 , with the study focusing on the option of
constructing a new tailings processing facility with a capacity of
600ktpm, adjacent to MTR, which would be a stand-alone operation
producing approximately 30,000oz to 35,000oz per annum with a
life-of-mine of 15 years
-- Environmental approvals and processing of water use licence
applications are in progress. The Company is currently also in
the process of identifying and concluding the required
pipeline servitudes from the Soweto Cluster tailings storage
facilities to the MTR plant site
o The study for the expansion of the MTR plant to include a separate
circuit for the treatment of hard rock ore from local surface material
is being finalised and could potentially further increase annual
production from the MTR complex by 20,000oz to 30,000oz
-- Elikhulu production is estimated at approximately 27,000oz for FY26H2,
with the operation on track for achieving gold production of more than
56,500oz for FY26 (FY25: 52,606 oz). This is the highest production rate
at Elikhulu since FY20, when production reached 59,616oz
-- The Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP) is expected to achieve
production of approximately 5,500oz in FY26H2, with full year production
of approximately 13,000oz (FY25: 15,224oz). The reduced production is
in line with the mine plan
o The addition of a flotation circuit to improve recoveries has been
approved at a cost of ~US$5.9 million . The project is anticipated to
be completed by the end of calendar year 2026. This will also enable
the BTRP to treat refractory ore types in future
o The Group is further advancing its studies and designs for the
installation of a crusher circuit at the BTRP to allow for the
processing of hard rock from Royal Sheba
-- Tennant Mines is expected to produce approximately 18,500oz in FY26H2, a
19% increase in production from FY26H1 (15,560oz). Full-year production
for FY26 is estimated at ~34,000oz
o In FY26H2 engineering works were completed on both the ball mill and
the filter presses at the Nobles plant, which enhanced throughput and
improved efficiencies
o An increase in grade was achieved as the mining operations progressed
from only treating CPS material in FY26H1 at 1.3g/t to processing a
blend of this material with fresh ore from the Weaber’s Find, Rising
Sun and Nobles open pits in FY26H2 at ~1.5g/t
o The Group is planning increased capital expenditure in FY27 at Tennant
Mines to further enhance the Nobles plant efficiencies and increase
throughput while also expediting mining at the large-scale White Devil
open pit, which contains Indicated Mineral Resources of over 3Mt at
3.73g/t (378koz) in the current open pit envelope. The White Devil
orebody remains open at depth and on strike
o The Group will also commence with the development of two large,
shallow and high-grade underground sections at Juno (Indicated and
Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.96Mt at 4.16g/t for 262koz) and Golden
Forty (Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 0.5Mt at 7.25g/t for
114koz), which together with White Devil, will underpin gold
production at Tennant Mines over the next five years.
Underground operations
-- FY26H2 gold production at Evander Mines’ underground complex is
estimated at 25,000oz, a 16% increase (FY26H1:21,640oz). Production of
~47,000oz is anticipated for the full year, representing a 68% increase
year-on-year. The substantial increase in production is attributed to:
o Evander Mines’ 8 Shaft underground development reaching the high-grade
24 Level B-Raise line, resulting in the average recovered grade
increasing to more than 11g/t in FY26 (from 6.8g/t in FY25).
Additionally, development has advanced to the adjacent 24 Level
A-Raise line with persistent high-grade mineralisation. These two
Raise lines will continue to yield the bulk of the ore tonnage to be
processed at Evander Mines in FY27
o Development on the 25 Level access haulage has commenced and is
progressing according to plan
o Increased sourcing of third-party surface material treated through a
dedicated circuit within Evander Mines’ Kinross metallurgical plant
will yield circa 3,000oz gold (170,000t at 1.2g/t in FY26 (FY25:
34,411t at 1.1g/t)
-- Barberton Mines
o FY26H2 production of approximately 39,500oz is expected for the
Barberton Mines underground operations (FY26H1: 32,774oz), with full
year production of approximately 72,000oz (FY25: 68,550oz), an
increase of 5%.
FINANCIAL
-- The Group is now fully degeared from a net debt perspective, compared to
net debt of US$46.2 million at 31 December 2025 , with the only current
outstanding debt being the DMTNs of US$49.7 million
-- Group AISC for FY26 is expected to be in line with the higher end of
guidance at approximately US$1,870 /oz at an average exchange rate of
US$/ZAR:17.00, excluding any year-end adjustments for share-based
payment liabilities and other accounting adjustments
-- The Group remains fully unhedged
FY27 PRODUCTION GUIDANCE
Improved production contribution from
Group production for FY27 is expected to be between 280,000oz and 302,000oz as outlined below:
__________________________________________________ | Operation | Production range (oz)| |___________________________|______________________| |Elikhulu |48,000-52,000 | |___________________________|______________________| |BTRP |12,000-14,000 | |___________________________|______________________| |MTR* |50,000-54,000 | |___________________________|______________________| |Tennant Mines |48,000-52,000 | |___________________________|______________________| |Evander Mines underground |50,000-55,000 | |___________________________|______________________| |Barberton Mines underground|72,000-75,000 | |___________________________|______________________| | Total | 280,000-302,000 | |___________________________|______________________|
* Expected production from MTR takes into account treatment of final calcine elements, whereafter annual production is forecast to increase to over 60,000oz/year
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Total capital expenditure for FY26 is forecast at
-- US$10 million for expedited development of the White Devil deposit at
Tennant Mines
-- solar plant construction costs of ~US$8 million at Tennant Mines
-- ~US$3 million to finalise feasibility studies for the Soweto Cluster
DFS.
Given the sustained high gold price environment, the Group is expediting several initiatives to grow gold production further and reduce AISC over the next years. The Group’s capital expenditure guidance for FY27 has been revised to
This increase is mainly driven by expediting the development of the White Devil open pit and the installation of a fixed crusher circuit and filter belt at the Nobles plant to support current and future production growths, as well as fast-tracking exploration. Additionally, construction costs for the renewable energy projects have also been finalised and included in the revised capital expenditure.
______________________________________________________________________________ | Operation | Expansion capital (US$| Sustaining capital (US$| | |million) 4 |million) | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |Elikhulu | 2 | 2 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |BTRP | 8 | 1 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |MTR 1 | 46 | 4 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |Tennant Mines |140 | 7 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |Evander underground 2 | 50 | 0 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |Barberton Mines underground 3| 20 |28 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| |Evander phase 2 and Tennant | 16 | 0 | |Mines solar plants | | | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________| | Total | 282 | 42 | |_____________________________|_______________________|________________________|
1 Includes capital to construct new tailings deposition capacity and install a mill to increase gold production further.
2 Includes capital for ongoing capital development, equipping of 25 Level and capitalised working costs.
3 Includes capital to construct new tailings deposition capacity as well as ongoing capital development (mainly for the Fairview and Western Cross orebodies).
4
Excludes capital for the Soweto Cluster, Poplar,
CONTINGENCY PLANNING
In light of the continuing unrest in the
-- a rolling three-month supply of cyanide at all South African operations
-- one-month on-site storage of diesel fuel reserves at Tennant Mines.
EXPLORATION
The Group continues to advance its exploration strategy with a focus on converting Inferred Mineral Resources into Mineral Reserves, identifying extensions at known deposits at Tennant Mines and drill testing new targets
-- At Tennant Mines, exploration will be directed towards more than 10
targets identified through the regional geophysics programme completed
in FY26, while the programme itself will be further expanded. Key
activities include:
o a regional soil sampling programme comprising approximately 6,000
samples across up to 13 anomalous targets
o diamond and reverse circulation drilling programmes at Chariot, Golden
Forty, Juno and White Devil
o regional reverse circulation drilling across several additional
targets
o advancing project studies and approvals for known deposits to support
their inclusion in the life-of-mine plan.
PROPOSED ACQUISITION IN
-- The acquisition of Emmerson consolidates the Group’s position in the
prospective Tennant Creek mineral field in the Northern Territory,
Australia . The successful conclusion of the transaction will deliver
100%-ownership of a strategic asset and eliminates the complexity
associated with the existing joint venture arrangements
o As part of the transaction, Pan African will also undertake an
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing, reflecting its long-term
commitment to the Australian market
o The Scheme Meeting of Emmerson shareholders to approve the Scheme will
be held on Monday, 15 June 2026 . Subject to the conditions of the
Scheme being satisfied, or waived (as permitted), the Scheme is
expected to be implemented in accordance with the following indicative
timetable:
___________________________________________ | Event | Indicative dates* | |___________________|_______________________| |Scheme meeting |Monday, 15 June 2026 | |___________________|_______________________| |Second court date |Friday, 19 June 2026 | |___________________|_______________________| |Effective date |Monday, 22 June 2026 | |___________________|_______________________| |Scheme record date |Wednesday, 24 June 2026| |___________________|_______________________| |Implementation date|Wednesday,1 July 2026 | |___________________|_______________________|
* All stated dates are indicative only and subject to change. Any changes to the above timetable will be announced and will be available under Pan African’s and Emmerson’s profiles on their relevant exchanges .
-- On 19 May 2026 , the Group acquired a 15% strategic investment in
ASX-listed CuFe for ~A$15.35 million . CuFe’s advanced Gecko and Orlando
projects have synergies with the Group’s Warrego project, which is the
largest copper and gold resource in Tennant Creek and with historical
production from these projects previously having been processed jointly.
In c onnection with the Group’s investment, CuFe has committed to form a
technical working group, comprising representatives of Pan African, to
investigate (amongst other things) potential synergistic benefits
associated with the development of these projects.
1
Further details are included in the
It has been an exceptional year for
The strong operational performance from our South African portfolio offset the slower-than-anticipated production ramp-up from
Despite inflationary pressures, costs remain well managed.
We are in a fortunate position in
The conclusion of the Emmerson transaction will see Pan African consolidate the
We also look forward to reporting our final results for the year ended
Competent Person
The competent person for Pan African,
The information contained in this announcement is the responsibility of the board and has not been reviewed or reported on by the Group’s external auditors.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
For further information on Pan African, please visit the Company's website at
Corporate information Corporate office The Firs Building Registered office 2nd Floor, Office 204 107 Cheapside, 2 nd Floor Corner Cradock and Biermann Avenues London, EC2V 6DN Rosebank, Johannesburg United Kingdom South Africa Office: + 44 (0)20 3869 0706 Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 jane.kirton@corpserv.co.ukinfo@paf.co.za Chief executive Officer Financial director and debt officer Cobus Loots Marileen Kok Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 Head: Investor relations Hethen Hira Website: www.panafricanresources.com Tel: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 E-mail: hhira@paf.co.za Company secretary Joint broker Jane Kirton Ross Allister/Georgia Langoulant St James's Corporate Services Limited Peel Hunt LLP Office: + 44 (0)20 3869 0706 Office: +44 (0)20 7418 8900 JSE sponsor and JSE debt sponsor Joint broker Ciska Kloppers Thomas Rider/Nick Macann Questco Corporate Advisory ProprietaryBMO Capital Markets Limited Limited Office: +44 (0)20 7236 1010 Office: + 27 (0) 63 482 3802 Joint broker Matthew Armitt/Jennifer Lee Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co KG (Berenberg) Office: +44 (0)20 3207 7800
