Tharisa Secures $300M Funding for Zimbabwe’s Karo Platinum Mine

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  September 14, 2026

Tharisa has secured 300 million US dollars in debt financing to advance construction of its Karo Platinum Project in Zimbabwe, completing a trio of milestones that clears key funding, regulatory and market hurdles ahead of the mine’s planned start-up in late 2027.

The London and Johannesburg-listed mining group priced a five-year senior secured bond worth 300 million US dollars on September 10, issued through Arxo Finance plc, a wholly owned subsidiary. The bond was priced at 98 per cent of par and carries an annual coupon of 11 per cent.

The offering was oversubscribed, attracting more than 150 institutional investors from Europe, the UK, the Middle East, North America and Asia, according to Tharisa.

The proceeds will be held in escrow pending the satisfaction of release conditions and will be used primarily to complete the development and construction of Karo, with first ore to the mill targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.

The financing follows Tharisa’s signing of a Special Mining Lease Agreement with the Zimbabwean government on August 20, strengthening the project’s long-term security of tenure and establishing the fiscal and regulatory framework for its development.

The company has also concluded a long-term offtake agreement with Valterra for platinum group metals concentrate from Karo. Tharisa said the agreement diversifies its customer base and provides independent validation of the quality and marketability of the project’s future production.

The three developments have positioned Karo to enter its peak construction phase, according to Phoevos Pouroulis, chief executive of Tharisa.

"The completion of these three foundational milestones, namely securing tenure, validating market demand and securing scalable funding, marks a transformative moment for Tharisa," Pouroulis said.

Karo is expected to become Tharisa’s second Tier 1 platinum group metals asset and more than double the group’s PGM output once operational.

Tharisa is also advancing an underground expansion at its flagship Tharisa Mine in South Africa. Development of the Apollo complex, which began in March 2026, is progressing towards first run-of-mine ore in the current quarter, with steady-state production targeted at 255,000 tonnes a month by the third quarter of 2029.

The Orion complex is expected to follow, with first ore targeted for the 2031 financial year and steady-state production expected by the third quarter of 2033. The two underground complexes are expected to extend mining at the Tharisa Mine for more than 60 years after depletion of the existing open pit.

The underground project is funded through development loans from Absa and Standard Bank and an asset-based revolving facility from Nedbank.

Tharisa is advancing its expansion as platinum group metals prices strengthen. Platinum traded above 1,800 US dollars an ounce in early September, while the company’s spot PGM basket price stood at 2,719 US dollars an ounce. Spot chrome prices were about 290 US dollars a tonne.

The company’s co-mining model, in which chrome cash flow supports PGM development, remains central to its growth strategy.

Over the next 12 months, Tharisa expects construction at Karo to advance towards first ore in the fourth quarter of 2027, while Apollo is targeted to deliver its first run-of-mine ore during the current financial year.

Source: FSX Business News