Online Reporter
Business Reporter
SOUTH AFRICAN resources group Tharisa Capital says it has made significant progress in de-risking the Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe, adding that funding solutions to accelerate the final development of the premium asset are at an advanced stage.
In cases like this, de-risking refers to the process of identifying, assessing and mitigating potential risks and uncertainties associated with a mining project throughout its lifecycle.
This proactive approach aims to enhance the project’s viability, attractiveness to investors and overall success.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) are among Zimbabwe’s major export earners. In fact, they are the second-largest mineral export earner after gold.
The Karo Platinum project, a PGMs asset under development in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West province, 80 kilometres southeast of the capital, Harare, has made significant progress on mine development. This is so despite the impact of low global platinum prices.
According to Karo Holdings’ 2024 financials, as at the report date of September 30, 2024, US$107 million had been received from Tharisa plc for utilisation on the ongoing construction work.
The group said management was at an advanced stage of securing debt funding amounting to US$225 million required for the project’s construction work and the balance of US$31,2 million through an equity partner.
Karo Platinum said, for the current financial year, the US$65 million equity line provided by the parent company last year had been fully utilised in the project, while a further US$70 million equity funding was made available and is being drawn down for project working capital needs as they fall due.
Tharisa chief executive officer Mr Phoevos Pouroulis, in a trading update for the third quarter of the 2025 financial year ending June 30, said infrastructure work continued in line with capital availability.
“Karo Platinum has made significant progress in de-risking the project, and the teams are working on concluding funding solutions to accelerate the final development of this Tier 1 asset. With commodity prices improving, our balance sheet continues to remain robust,” he said.
Mr Pouroulis said during the quarter under review, PGM prices continued their upward trend, driven by real physical demand for refined platinum and industrial buying, while supply cutbacks and pipeline destocking underpinned the widening gap in the supply-demand fundamentals.
“While prices are now more supportive of industry profitability, long-term sustainability of higher prices is necessary to induce wide-scale project development,” he said.
Karo Platinum, which completed earthworks last month, opened a tender for a mining contract to begin stripping overburden and preparing for mining.
Located in Zimbabwe’s mineral-rich Great Dyke, Karo Platinum’s operation will include a 10-year open-pit phase, followed by a 30-year underground mine, producing up to 226 000 ounces of PGMs annually.
The company had been confident it would complete the mine development in 2024, but had to push back timelines following the collapse of global platinum prices, which Mr Pouroulis said were now on a recovery path.
“The quarter reflected recovery improvements in both chrome and PGM circuits and prices are trending towards the group’s targeted performance metrics for its integrated processing plants,” he said.
Zimbabwe has three operating PGM mines, namely, Impala Platinum-owned Zimplats; Anglo American’s Unki Mine; and Mimosa, which is jointly owned by Sibanye-Stillwater and Implats.
New PGM projects under development include the Bravura Consortium, owned by Nigerian billionaire Benedict Peters, which has made headway in the development of its mine, having completed several processes and equipment mobilisations.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Mr Winston Chitando recently said PGMs play a pivotal role in the development of the country’s economy, accounting for approximately 25 percent of national exports.
The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) considers Zimbabwe as having the world’s second-largest PGMs resource, after South Africa, most of it found in the mineral-rich Great Dyke.
Globally, the platinum market is expected to remain in deficit for the third consecutive year, with a projected shortfall of 848 000 ounces in 2025, following a 995 000-ounce deficit in 2024, according to the WPIC.
Online Reporter