Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Karo Mining is confident in its financial capability to fund the next phase of its flagship platinum project in Zimbabwe, which has been hindered by a slump in global prices between 2023 and 2024.
The next phase of Karo’s project involves completing construction and moving to the commissioning and operational stages, to achieve “first ore in mill” in the second half of 2026.
The dip in global prices of some major commodities, including platinum group metals, forced developers to scale back investments and construction, affecting original project timelines.
In recent years, the performance of PGMs has been volatile, marked by a sharp price decline for palladium and rhodium in 2023 followed by a strong rebound for all major PGMs in 2025.
Karo, a subsidiary of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Tharisa Capital, remains confident in its financial capacity to progress the project despite a consolidated loss of US$2,5 million for 2025, up from a US$2,2 million loss in the prior period.
The financial loss reflects continued investment into the Karo Platinum Project in Zimbabwe, Mashonaland West Province, along the mineral-rich Great Dyke.
Management remains bullish, though, about the fundability of the project amid improving global economic fundamentals and rising metal prices.
The company’s total assets stood at US$156,6 million as at September 30, 2025, while equity rose to US$100,9 million, underlining sustained shareholder support for the Zimbabwean PGMs project.
Cash balances increased to US$12,35 million, supported by shareholder funding and improved operational discipline.
Karo said that construction of the Karo Platinum Project, which began in December 2022, remained on track, with capital expenditure to date aligned with expectations.
The mine is one of the largest PGM developments currently underway in the country and is strategically positioned along the mineral-rich Great Dyke.
The company said the project’s funding outlook has improved markedly following a rebound in PGM prices during 2025. Basket prices rose by about 45 percent during the year to an average of US$1,882.74 per six-element ounce, compared to US$1,302.54 in 2024.
In its statement accompanying the results, the board said the improved price environment had strengthened the project’s funding prospects.
“Prices, which declined in 2024 and in turn slowed construction, improved by 45 percent in 2025 to a spot basket price of US$1,882.74/6Eoz. This has improved the estimated fundability and debt capacity of the project,” the company said.
