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July 23 (Reuters) - African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) said on Thursday its board has approved a phased 15.2 billion rand ($927.28 million) upgrade of its Bokoni platinum group metal operations as well as the resumption of nickel mining at Nkomati.
The diversified South African miner said in a statement the outlook for PGMs, mostly used in autocatalysts which curb vehicle emissions, remains positive despite the expected impact of battery electric vehicles, which do not require emission control.
The Bokoni project expansion will add a new 120,000 metric ton per month platinum group metal concentrator to the existing 60,000 ton per month plant, which will be refurbished, ARM said. The new concentrator is expected to be commissioned in 2030.
ARM said it expects the Bokoni project to reach steady state in 2032, with annual output between 350,000 and 400,000 ounces of PGMs from that year. The company produced 615,719 ounces of PGMs in its financial year to June 2025.
ARM suspended operations at Bokoni in June 2025, saying the smaller 60,000 ton per month mining and milling capacity was insufficient to offset fixed costs and sustain profitability.
The company, which also has iron ore, manganese and coal assets, said it was restarting open-pit mining operations and nickel concentrate production at Nkomati after agreeing a conditional off-take deal with Sweden's Boliden.
The Nkomati mine was placed on care and maintenance in 2021 due to persistent financial losses driven by rising operational costs and weak nickel prices.
ARM, which took full control of Nkomati in July 2025 following the exit of former joint venture partner Nornickel, plans to spend $46 million on the nickel mining restart, producing 56,065 tons of nickel concentrate annually.
($1 = 16.3921 rand)
(Reporting by Nelson Banya, Editing by Louise Heavens)
