The Sunday Mail
Business Reporter
Karo Resources’ US$4,2 billion platinum project is progressing according to plan, raising expectations the venture would achieve its key milestones within scheduled timelines.
The project — a joint venture between European-headquartered integrated resource group Tharisa Plc and Karo Resources — is one of the signature deals by President Mnangagwa’s administration.
It is key to achieving the targeted growth in the mining sector in the next three years.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) — a financier of the major mining venture — made assurances in November 2018 that the project would proceed as planned.
Notably, the AFC, through its president and CEO Samaila Zubairu, said it was ready to support the project with an initial capital injection of US$2 billion.
AFC has a total asset base of over US$6,6 billion in 30 countries.
Karo Resources country manager Dr Josphat Zimba the group was action-oriented.
“The negative press will not affect this project,” said Dr Zimba, adding; “The energy in the team is amazing and you can see the team is eager to have things done. As for talking to the press, I think it’s better we do our talking on the ground and deliver as per our promise.”
He was, however, reluctant to give finer details of the current scope of works.
Sources told The Sunday Mail Business that there were at least five state-of-the-art drilling rigs working round the clock in Mhondoro.
Mining projects generally have a long gestation period.
“The project is well on course with no problems that we have run into,and there is nothing that has dissuaded us from continuing the project,” said the source.
“There are currently five rigs on the ground that are drilling as we speak. A mining project can take up to a decade to run through the stages of consummation, exploration, mine-site design and planning, construction and finally production but we will take less than 10 years.
“In terms of full-time employees, there are not many because we are still at a resource definition exercise. Most of the work that we are currently doing is not going to be core business when production starts hence the need to rely on outsourced labour for now,” he said.
The Tharisa Group itself, is forecasting a boon from the Zimbabwe investment.
Commenting on the group’s full year results last year, Tharisa Group chairperson Mr Loucas Pouroulis said; “. . . we focused our energy in the right places and have invested in both our workforce and machinery, which will ensure we have the right tools to achieve our targets.
“Extremely pleasing is our Zimbabwean development pipeline, especially with Karo Platinum completing phase one of the exploration programme with positive results apparent at this early stage,” he said.
At full production, the Karo project targets to produce 1,4 million ounces of platinum group metals by 2023.
Government plans to grow the mining to a US$12 billion industry by 2023.
The local project will see the construction of a 300 megawatt (MW) solar power plant and a base metals refinery.
Overall, at least 15 000 and 75 000 workers will be directly and indirectly employed by the projects respectively.
