Business Correspondent
South African mining group Tharisa is seeking to raise up to US$300 million through a five-year senior secured bond to finance the development of its Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe, in a move that could unlock the remaining capital required to bring the major mine into production.
Tharisa has appointed DNB Carnegie and HSBC as joint bookrunners, with Absa Bank acting as co-manager, to arrange meetings with fixed-income investors as it tests the market’s appetite for the proposed debt issue.
The proposed bond would be issued through Tharisa’s wholly owned subsidiary, Arxo Finance, with the proceeds earmarked for capital expenditure at Karo and general corporate purposes.
Karo is being developed at an estimated cost of about US$545 million, with Tharisa having already invested more than US$240 million in the project.
A successful US$300 million bond issue would therefore provide a substantial portion of the funding still required to complete the project and move it towards production.
The financing push comes shortly after Tharisa and the Zimbabwean Government signed a 25-year Special Mining Lease Agreement for Karo, covering about 23 903 hectares on the Great Dyke.
The agreement also establishes the fiscal and operational framework for the project, removing a major uncertainty that had been hanging over its development.
Karo is one of the largest undeveloped platinum-group metals projects on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke. The project has an open-pit mineral reserve of about 2.1 million ounces of PGMs, on a four-element basis, and a mineral resource of about 11.2 million ounces. Its broader resource base could support a mine life of more than 50 years if underground operations are eventually developed.
The first phase of the project is designed to produce about 226 000 ounces of PGMs a year, with first production targeted for the second half of 2027.
For Tharisa, Karo represents a major expansion of its PGM production base. The company has said production from the Zimbabwe operation could eventually take its annual PGM output to close to 400 000 ounces, compared with 138 300 ounces produced in the 2025 financial year.
The company has already begun preparatory work at Karo, including surface clearing and mobilisation of its mining contractor, while infrastructure development and other long-lead requirements are being advanced.
The proposed debt raising also comes as the platinum market has regained investor attention, with stronger PGM prices improving the economics of new projects.
Tharisa’s move to tap the international debt market highlights the importance of external financing to Karo as the company seeks to avoid relying solely on its existing balance sheet to fund the capital-intensive project.
The company reported cash of about US$198.8 million and net cash of US$10.7 million at the end of June, while having already committed significant funds to Karo.
Karo’s development is strategically important for Zimbabwe, which is seeking to increase investment and production in its platinum sector. The country’s PGM industry is currently dominated by Zimplats, Unki and Mimosa.
The project is also expected to strengthen Zimbabwe’s position as a major global source of platinum-group metals while generating additional mining-related investment, employment and export revenues.
Tharisa has separately secured a five-year concentrate purchase agreement with Valterra Platinum, providing an established commercial route for Karo’s future PGM concentrate production.
However, the US$300 million bond has not yet been completed. Tharisa is currently testing investor appetite, and the final size, pricing and completion of the transaction will depend on market conditions.
