Tharisa Plc has secured a binding concentrate purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Valterra Platinum for concentrate from its Karo Platinum Project on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, providing offtake certainty as the company advances the development, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Tharisa said Karo Mining Holdings plc (KMH), which owns 85% of Karo Platinum, had signed the purchase agreement for platinum group metals (PGM) and base metal concentrate produced from the project. The remaining 15% is held by the Government of Zimbabwe through Zimbabwe General Mining Limited, an unencumbered free-carried interest.
Tharisa owns 78.81% of KMH.
The agreement has an initial five-year term and covers concentrate purchases on customary offtake terms.
The deal follows Karo Platinum’s signing of a Special Mining Lease Agreement with the Government of Zimbabwe, which secures the tenure and fiscal certainty required to advance the project towards first production.
Karo Platinum is described by Tharisa as one of the largest undeveloped PGM assets on the Great Dyke. The project has an open-pit mineral reserve of 2.1 million ounces on a 4E basis and a mineral resource of 11.2 million ounces, also on a 4E basis.
Tharisa said the project, with potential underground mining, supports a mine life of more than 50 years.
Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said securing the agreement with Valterra represented a significant milestone for Karo Platinum and strengthened the project’s bankability.
“Securing a concentrate purchase agreement with a partner of Valterra’s standing and high-quality downstream processing footprint is a significant milestone for Karo Platinum, providing offtake certainty as we advance the project towards first production,” Pouroulis said.
He said the agreement reinforced the project’s bankability and Tharisa’s partnership-led approach to developing Karo.
“We view Valterra as an ideal partner for the next phase of our growth and look forward to deepening our cooperation as Karo progresses,” he said.
Valterra CEO Craig Miller said the agreement reflected confidence in the fundamentals of the PGM market and Tharisa’s ability to develop the project on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke.
“We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Tharisa for the concentrate produced at Karo Platinum,” Miller said.
“The agreement reflects our confidence in the fundamentals of the PGM market and Tharisa’s ability to develop this project on the high-quality mineralised zone of Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke.”
Miller said the agreement would strengthen Valterra’s third-party processing portfolio and provide the basis for a longer-term relationship with Tharisa.
The offtake agreement marks another step in the development of Karo as Tharisa seeks to move the Zimbabwean PGM project towards production, with the company positioning the partnership with Valterra as part of its broader growth strategy.
