Tharisa Plc has placed the net proceeds of its US$300 million bond in escrow after satisfying a major condition required for settlement, bringing its Karo Platinum Project in Zimbabwe closer to accessing the capital needed to complete construction, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
The five-year senior secured Nordic bond, issued through its wholly owned subsidiary Arxo Finance Plc, was priced at 98% of principal with an 11% semi-annual coupon and was oversubscribed when launched on September 11.
The proceeds will be released to Tharisa once the remaining applicable conditions are fulfilled and are earmarked for the completion of Karo, with first ore to the mill targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
Karo has an estimated development cost of about US$545 million, with Tharisa having invested about US$241 million before securing the latest financing. The bond therefore covers a substantial portion of the remaining capital requirement as the project moves towards construction.
The financing follows a series of milestones that have strengthened Karo’s commercial and regulatory position since development began in 2022.
Tharisa secured a 25-year Special Mining Lease Agreement with the Zimbabwean government in August, covering about 23,903 hectares on the Great Dyke. The company also signed a five-year concentrate offtake agreement with Valterra Platinum, providing a long-term route to market for Karo’s future PGM production.
The latest funding follows those agreements and moves Tharisa closer to closing the project’s financing requirements. DNB Carnegie and HSBC acted as joint bookrunners on the bond offering, which attracted strong institutional demand.
The remaining release conditions are now the immediate step before Tharisa can access the capital for project spending.
“Reaching this milestone brings us a decisive step closer to fully funding Karo Platinum,” Tharisa Chief Executive Officer Phoevos Pouroulis said.
“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 released, the funds will support continued development and construction as Tharisa works towards first ore in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Karo is being developed as a Tier 1 open-pit PGM operation on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, with the first phase designed to produce about 226,000 ounces of PGMs a year. Tharisa has said the project is expected to more than double its PGM production once operational.
The project would add another large-scale PGM operation to Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, alongside Zimplats, Unki and Mimosa, expanding the country’s platinum-group metals production base.
For Tharisa, Karo is central to its strategy of expanding its PGM business while building on its existing chrome and PGM operations in South Africa.
The project has taken longer to reach this stage than initially envisaged, with development affected by weaker PGM prices and the need to secure its long-term fiscal and commercial framework.
With the major financing condition now satisfied, Tharisa’s focus shifts to the remaining requirements and project drawdown as it works towards bringing Karo into production in 2027.
