Name of the Project
Karo platinum project.

Location
The Great Dyke, in the Mashonaland West district of Zimbabwe.

Project Owner/s
Karo Platinum, which is jointly owned by the government of Zimbabwe and Karo Mining Holdings.

Tharisa is a 75% shareholder in Karo Mining Holdings, which, in turn, indirectly owns 85% of the Karo platinum project, with the government of Zimbabwe holding the remaining 15% of the project on a free-carry basis. Tharisa says it will have an effective 68% interest in the project following the full capital commitments.

Project Description
The project has initial probable reserves of 35.5-million tonnes at 2.31 g/t and 2.5-million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold.

Proposed is a Tier 1 openpit, scalable, low-cost and -risk project, which is under construction and developed in phases.

Its development will comprise the sequential opening of four openpits. The first pit to be developed will have a strike length of 7.6 km and an ultimate pit depth of 99 m, with a life of six years. Thereafter, the other pits will be developed.

Karo will process about 2.5-million tonnes a year of ore and produce 190 000 oz/y of platinum, palladium, ruthenium, gold rhodium and iridium, or six-element platinum group metals (PGMs), over its 17-year life-of-mine.

The integrated mining and refining complex includes the establishment of a 300 MW solar PV power plant, which will feed power into the Zimbabwe electricity grid.

Potential Job Creation
As at June 30, 2023, Karo employed 540 people on site, of whom 99 are Karo employees, with the balance being contractor employees. Most of them are from the local community.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at a 10% discount rate (excluding in situ inferred resources), of $413-million and an internal rate of return of 26.1%.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital expenditure for Phase 1 is estimated at $391-million.

Planned Start /End Date
First ore in the mill is expected 15 months after financial close.

Latest Developments
Tharisa reports in its second quarter financial year production report of 2026 that it continues to make progress in further derisking the project. Openpit surface clearing has started as planned, following the successful mobilisation of the mining contractor at the end of the previous quarter. 

The company has said infrastructure development and investment in key work packages are continuing, including securing the required power, water and long-lead items. 

Project funding has advanced well and is intended to provide the full requirements for project completion, subject to concluding the fiscal stability agreements with the Zimbabwean government. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Karo Mining Holdings, email info@karomining.com.