Our opinion on the current state of SDLAn Australian palladium mining company with a secondary listing on the JSE. South PD owns 70% of a South African company called "Miracle upon Miracle" (MUM). In cooperation with the Bengwenyama community the company is engaged in exploration for platinum group metals. The company raised A$19m to explore in the Limpopo bushveld complex where MUM owns the prospecting right. The share opened on the JSE on 8th June 2022 and currently trades for about 675c per share. In an activities report on the quarter ending 30th June 2022 the company said, "Completion of Total Magnetic Field (TMF) spectrometry survey at Bengwenyama, confirming the existing structural model of the site based on historical field data. Planning completed for Phase 1 which comprises a 63-hole (~24,500m) diamond drilling programme at Bengwenyama and is scheduled to commence in August 2022". In its results for the year to 30th June 2023 the company reported an operating loss of A$7,2m and a headline loss per share of 0,8c compared with a loss of 0,18c in the previous year. The company said, "During the financial year the Company's primary focus was on the development of its 70% interest in the Bengwenyama Platinum Group Metal project (Project)." In a report on the 3 months to 30th September 2023 the company said, "Total Mineral Resource (Indicated and Inferred) for the project has now Johan Odendaal increased from a 3PGE+Au Inferred Resource of 18.80Moz to a 6PGE+Au Indicated and Inferred Resource of 25.12Moz, comprising 5.11Moz Indicated Non-Executive Directors and 20.01Moz Inferred – an overall increase of 34% since drilling began." On 30th September 2023 the company had about $9,98m in cash. In an update on the 3 months to 31st December 2023 the company reported, "Metallurgical testing results indicated that Ore from the UG2 reef can be treated with recovery rates of between 80% to 85% with conventional extraction methods that are used across the Bushveld Co." Clearly, this is a very thinly-traded mining exploration company with all the associated risk.
