KEY POINTS
- Karo Platinum has secured a 25-year special mining lease from Zimbabwe.
- The project is expected to produce 226,000 ounces of PGMs annually at full capacity.
- The mine could create more than 1,000 jobs and operate for over 50 years.
Karo Platinum, an 85%-owned subsidiary of London- and Johannesburg-listed critical minerals company Tharisa, has signed a 25-year special mining lease agreement with the Zimbabwean government.
The agreement gives the company long-term security of tenure over its 23,903-hectare mining area on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke and establishes the fiscal and operational framework for the development of the project.
Tharisa said the agreement removes a major element of uncertainty around the project and provides the stability needed to move Karo Platinum towards first production of platinum group metals (PGMs).
The signing took place in the presence of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, government officials and executives from Tharisa and Karo Platinum.
Project expected to boost PGM production
The first phase of the Karo project is designed to produce about 226,000 ounces of PGMs a year once it reaches full production.
The development is also expected to employ more than 1,000 people during Phase 1, strengthening its potential contribution to employment, skills development and economic activity in Zimbabwe.
Tharisa sees Karo Platinum as an important part of its growth strategy through to 2030 and expects the project to become a significant contributor to Zimbabwe’s mining industry.
Karo Platinum is regarded as one of the largest undeveloped PGM assets on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, one of the world’s major geological regions for platinum group metals.
The project has an open-pit mineral reserve of about 2.1 million ounces and a total mineral resource of 11.2 million ounces.
While the initial development is focused on open-pit mining, the potential for underground operations could extend the project’s mine life beyond 50 years.
This gives Karo Platinum the potential to become a long-term source of platinum, palladium and other PGMs for both Zimbabwe and international markets.
