HARARE – Tharisa has placed the net proceeds of a US$300 million five-year senior secured bond into escrow, bringing its Zimbabwe-based Karo Platinum Project closer to full funding as the miner targets first ore from the Great Dyke operation in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The bond, issued through Tharisa’s wholly owned subsidiary Arxo Finance plc, was priced at 98% of principal with an 11% semi-annual coupon and was oversubscribed after attracting demand from more than 150 institutional investors across Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, North America and Asia.
The proceeds will be used primarily to complete the development and construction of Karo, with any remaining funds available for general corporate purposes. The funds will be released to the group once the remaining applicable conditions for drawdown have been satisfied.
Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said the financing milestone puts the company in a position to complete Karo and expand its platinum group metals (PGM) production.
“This is a highly satisfactory outcome for Tharisa, enabling us to complete the Karo Platinum Project, more than double our PGM output and add a second Tier 1 asset to our portfolio,” Pouroulis said.
He said the bond pricing reflected both Zimbabwe’s jurisdiction and the fact that Karo remains under construction, but said Tharisa viewed the 11% cost of capital as a starting point.
“As the project is commissioned and we establish a track record with this investor base, we would expect our cost of capital to reflect that progress,” he said.
The escrow milestone follows a series of developments that have progressively reduced the regulatory, commercial and financing uncertainties around Karo.
In August, Karo Platinum signed a 25-year Special Mining Lease Agreement with the Government of Zimbabwe, securing the project’s mining tenure. Days later, Tharisa announced a five-year concentrate purchase agreement with Valterra Platinum, providing an offtake arrangement for Karo’s future PGM concentrate.
Tharisa has now described Karo as substantially de-risked, with exploration, mine planning and infrastructure development largely complete. Major construction milestones at the concentrator have been completed, while civil works are progressing and long-lead equipment has been delivered with installation underway.
The Karo project located on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke and is being developed as a low-cost open-pit PGM operation. Tharisa says the initial open-pit mine has a 10-year life, while the broader resource base provides potential for a much longer operating horizon.
The project is being developed through Karo Platinum, in which Karo Mining Holdings holds an 85% stake and Generation Minerals, a special purpose vehicle representing the Republic of Zimbabwe, holds the remaining 15% on a free-carried basis. Tharisa currently owns 78.17% of Karo Mining Holdings.
The company has previously highlighted the scale of the Karo resource, including an open-pit resource and reserve of about 12 million ounces of 6E PGMs and a broader resource of about 96 million ounces on a 4E basis, with underground mining offering potential for more than 50 years of additional mine life.
The latest financing represents a significant change from the earlier stages of the project, when Tharisa relied on multiple funding streams to advance construction. The company’s earlier project plans had estimated capital and working-capital requirements to first ore at about US$391 million.
Pouroulis said the company would now focus on completing construction while continuing to strengthen the project’s resource base.
“Reaching this milestone brings us a decisive step closer to fully funding Karo. Escrowing these proceeds reflects the discipline and confidence with which our lenders and investors have backed this project, and we now turn our full attention to the remaining conditions ahead of project drawdown,” he said.
Once operational, Karo is expected to become a major addition to Zimbabwe’s PGM industry and a second Tier 1 asset for Tharisa, with first ore to the mill targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
