Tharisa prices $300m bond to finish Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe

JSE- and LSE-listed Tharisa said on 11 September 2026 that it had secured a $300m bond to fund the completion of Karo Platinum, its open-pit PGM project on Zimbabwe's Great Dyke. Tharisa had first announced its plan to raise the bond on 2 September.

Terms

The five-year senior secured notes carry an 11% annual coupon and were priced at 98% of face value. Most of the proceeds will go to Karo, which has a total capital cost of $545m and is due to send its first ore to the mill in the fourth quarter of 2027. By the end of June 2026 Tharisa had already put $241m of its own equity into the project. At that date it held $198.8m in cash and net cash of $10.7m.

A price for Zimbabwe risk

Chief executive Phoevos Pouroulis said the pricing reflected both the jurisdiction and the fact that Karo is still under construction. He called it a starting point and said he expected the cost of capital to fall once the mine is commissioned and Tharisa builds a record with bond investors. The five-year term leaves room to refinance later. Analysts at Nedbank Securities noted that, while the coupon is high, the alternatives, such as a stream or a large share issue, could have done more lasting damage to project economics and shareholder value. Berenberg said the bond reduced the financial risk around Karo by covering what it expects the project still needs.

Why it matters

Karo is one of the few new PGM mines being built in southern Africa, and it would give Tharisa a second production centre alongside its chrome and PGM mine in South Africa. The deal also tests appetite among international debt investors for Zimbabwean mining risk. The reports reviewed describe the bond as priced and secured; they do not give a settlement date, so this record treats the financing as pending.

Sources

• Miningmx: Tharisa seals $300m Karo Platinum funding, 11 Sept 2026
• Miningmx: Tharisa to raise $300m bond for Karo Platinum, 02 Sept 2026
• Business Day: Tharisa prices $300m bond to advance Karo platinum project in Zimbabwe, 11 Sept 2026

Photo: Chromitite rock from Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, the geological formation that hosts the Karo platinum project. James St. John, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.