Abel Ndooka
Business Reporter
KARO Mining Holdings, the developer of the Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe, expects its First Ore in Mill (FOIM) in the second half of 2026 owing to a slowdown in funding workstreams caused by the platinum group metals (PGM) decline.
Platinum is one of Zimbabwe’s biggest exports along with gold.
Active projects include Zimplats, Mimosa Mining Company and Unki Mine while several projects are at different stages of development.
Karo Holdings’ South Africa based parent firm Tharisa Capital had targeted to commission the Zimbabwean project in 2024.
However, due to a significant downturn in PGM prices, the timeline was first pushed back to June 2025, and now the second half of 2026.
Karo said the progression of the platinum project faced additional delays as the funding work streams were adversely affected by the low PGM prices in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024.
This challenging pricing environment prompted a comprehensive review of the project’s commissioning schedule.
To ensure continual progress in the project, the company indicated that it has decided to break down its work streams into smaller, more manageable commitments that align with the availability of funding.
This strategic approach aims to maintain development momentum despite external challenges.
“First ore in mill (FOIM) is now planned for the second half of 2026 whilst the project workstreams have been divided into smaller commitments to ensure continued development aligned with funding availability.
“During the year ended 30 September 2024, development of the Karo Platinum Project was slowed down due to a delay in funding work streams because of PGM market conditions,” Karo director, Mr Andrew Henwood said in a statement of financials for the year ended September 30, 2024.
According to Karo, while the adjustment to the project timeline represents a setback, it is essential to contextualise it within the framework of a multi-generational mining endeavour.
The project holds significant potential for resource enhancement once phase 1 reaches completion.
Tharisa indicated that it has been following through on its commitment to fund the first US$135 million of the project budget through equity and equity-type instruments and also to provide various parent company guarantees for the group to secure the additional debt.
As at the reporting date, US$107 million had been received from Tharisa for utilisation on the ongoing construction work.
Furthermore, management is at an advanced stage to secure debt funding amounting to US$225 million for the completion of project construction and the balance of US$31, 2million through an equity partner.
The project encompasses a combination of value engineering, mining operations, and process optimisation, all of which are occurring concurrently to enhance overall efficiency and resource utilisation.
Tharisa plc is publicly traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) as well as on the Main Board of the London Stock Exchange.
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