Name of the Project
Karo Platinum project.

Location
The project is situated on the Great Dyke, in the Mashonaland West district of Zimbabwe.

Project Owner/s
Karo Platinum, which is jointly owned by the government of Zimbabwe and Karo Mining Holdings. Tharisa has a 26.8% stake in Karo Mining Holdings.

Project Description
The Karo platinum project is the first of four large projects that will be undertaken as part of a large-scale vertically integrated platinum group metals (PGMs) mining complex.

The project is estimated to contain about 96-million ounces at 3.2 g/t on a platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, or 4E, basis.

Karo will be responsible for the opencast and underground mining of the platinum concession, which is expected to mine an estimated 14.4-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine ore. This material will be processed by Karo Refining.

Karo Refining will treat up to two-million ounces of PGMs a year, providing an additional 600 000 oz capacity for toll refining by other PGMs producers in the country.

The project’s refinery unit will include concentration, smelting and refining functions to produce PGMs, as well as a base metals refinery and a precious metals refinery.

At steady state, the platinum mining complex is expected to produce about 1.4-million ounces of refined PGMs a year, providing an additional 600 000 oz for toll refining to be used by other PGM producers in Zimbabwe, thereby encouraging other producers to beneficiate raw materials before export.

The integrated mining and refining complex includes the establishment of a 300 MW solar power plant, which will feed power into the Zimbabwe electricity grid.

Potential Job Creation
The project could generate up to 15 000 direct jobs and 75 000 indirect jobs across the value chain.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start /End Date
The first openpit operation is expected to begin operations in 2020. The second is expected to follow suit in 2021, with the third and fourth coming on stream in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Latest Developments
Work is progressing on a 23 903 ha concession area on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke where Karo Mining intends to establish a massive PGMs project.

A year after Karo Mining signed a $4.2- billion deal to develop the latest integrated platinum mining and refining complex in Zimbabwe, 72 diamond core boreholes totalling 12 000 m have been completed by the first drilling contractor to be mobilised on site.

The drilling campaign is focused on the western edge of the Great Dyke, with the boreholes targeting average depths of 50 m to 150 m below the surface.

A second drilling contractor has now been mobilised on the eastern edge of the Great Dyke.

This follows the granting of a development permit by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) during the last quarter of 2018, which enabled Karo Mining’s local subsidiary, Karo Platinum, to initiate the fieldwork and the exploration drilling programme.

Karo Mining has said it will apply for national project status and for the planned projects to be located in a special economic zone, which will enhance its economics through concessions granted by the Zimbabwe government.

Karo Mining will be responsible for opencast and underground mining at the platinum concession, while Tharisa will manage exploration and oversee the subsequent bankable feasibility study (BFS), which is scheduled to get under way this year.

Tharisa has agreed to provide a $8-million debt facility for the initial geological exploration programme and sampling work to confirm and delineate the orebody before progressing to the BFS.

Meanwhile, an environmental consultant has been appointed, following the EMA’s approval of Karo’s environmental prospectus, with the necessary baseline studies and stakeholder consultations having been concluded.

The final environmental-impact assessment (EIA) and management programme is being prepared for submission to the EMA for approval.

The project’s digital terrain mapping and high-resolution airborne geophysical survey have been completed, while the geophysical data has also been interpreted.

Further, the cores from the boreholes are being prepared and logged before being sent to an independent laboratory for assaying.

The results of the assay and metallurgical testwork will form the basis of the next phase of the project.

The next stage of development will include the continuation of the drilling programme, the resource estimation and feasibility studies for the mine design, infrastructure and beneficiation plants.

Alongside the drilling programme, Karo Platinum is undertaking the quality-assurance and quality-control programme.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Karo Mining Holdings, email info@karomining.com.