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Southern Palladium's Bengwenyama Project Offers Investors Exposure to a Promising PGM Opportunity

Southern Palladium is advancing its shallow, high-grade Bengwenyama PGM project in South Africa's Bushveld Complex towards production in 2025 to capitalize on favorable supply-demand fundamentals.

  • The Bingoyama project is situated on the Eastern limb, surrounded by major platinum producers, and it includes multiple precious and base metals.
  • The company has raised 19 million Australian dollars and currently holds a cash balance of 11.5 million.
  • Southern Palladium is strategically located near essential infrastructure and benefits from a well-established beneficiation downstream for platinum concentrates.

About Southern Palladium

Johan Odendal, Managing Director of Southern Palladium Limited, provided an overview of the company's Bengwenyama platinum group metals (PGM) project at the 2023 Africa Down Under conference. Located on the eastern limb of South Africa's prolific Bushveld Complex, Bengwenyama represents an exciting development opportunity given its favorable location, existing infrastructure, shallow high-grade mineralization and clear pathway to near-term production.

For investors, the project offers exposure to a potential low-cost PGM mine with significant upside potential as it advances towards first metal targeting 2025. Given the positive attributes, Southern Palladium is well-positioned to create substantial value for shareholders.

Strategic Location Provides Platform for Growth

The Bengwenyama project is strategically located within the Bushveld Complex, a region containing over 80% of global PGM resources and home to major producers like Impala Platinum, Anglo American Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater. The site borders active mines and is proximate to critical infrastructure like roads, rail, water and power.

This premier location provides logistics and infrastructure advantages compared to more remote projects. By leveraging existing regional infrastructure, Bengwenyama can fast-track development timelines and minimize capital costs. The project requires no major infrastructure investment, de-risking the path to production.

Deposit Characteristics Support Low Operating Costs

Mineralization starts at shallow depths between 500-1,100 meters with high PGM grades averaging approximately 9 g/t 4E basis. The orebody contains both the Merensky and UG2 reefs which are well understood in the region. The shallow high-grade ore is expected to underpin low cash costs, boosting project economics.

The favorable characteristics of the Bengwenyama deposit in terms of depth, grade and metallurgy check all the boxes for a competitive PGM project development.

Clear Timeline to Unlocking Value

Southern Palladium has set a clear development strategy for the project:

  • Mining right application submitted in September 2022
  • Resource update imminent to upgrade confidence categories
  • Scoping study by end 2022 to outline production plan
  • Pre-feasibility study slated for Q2 2023 ahead of FID
  • First production targeted for 2025 at 10kozpa 4E basis

This staged approach provides a visible path to realizing value for investors as permitting, technical studies and ultimately construction progress over the coming 2-3 years.

Well-Funded to Reach Key Milestones

Southern Palladium maintains a strong financial position, with an initial raise of A$19 million and current cash balance of A$11.5 million. These funds are sufficient to progress Bengwenyama through the crucial final investment decision stage while limiting share dilution.

The company's modest market capitalization of A$25 million also provides substantial upside potential for investors as project de-risking milestones are achieved.

Positive Industry Backdrop Supportive of PGMs

Despite some recent PGM price weakness, the longer term outlook remains constructive driven by steady demand growth and constrained new supply. Tight industry fundamentals could lead to higher Platinum and Palladium prices over time as new demand sources like hydrogen fuel cells accelerate.

With few new PGM projects coming online globally, Bengwenyama is well-positioned to start producing into an attractive supply/demand environment. Southern Palladium's experienced management team provides the expertise to successfully build South Africa's next major PGM mine, delivering significant value for shareholders along the way.

In summary, with its premier location, competitive deposit, clear development plan, strong financials and positive industry backdrop, Southern Palladium's Bengwenyama PGM project checks all the boxes for investors seeking exposure to high-quality metals opportunities. As a potential low-cost PGM producer in a top-tier mining jurisdiction, Bengwenyama offers an exciting investment proposition.

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