London-listed Tharisa Plc’s Karo Platinum has signed a 25-year special mining lease agreement with the government of Zimbabwe, securing long term tenure for its PGMs project in the country.
The resources group plans to start mining at Karo — a major, high-grade open-pit platinum group metals (PGMs) mining operation located on the Great Dyke in Mhondoro-Ngezi — in the second half of 2027, and has so far invested over US$240 million in plant establishment, mining fleets, water and power infrastructure, and community development.
“Today, I had the privilege of witnessing the signing of a landmark 25-year Special Mining Lease Agreement between the government of Zimbabwe and Karo Platinum (part of Tharisa Plc),” Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on X.
“This major milestone secures long-term tenure over a 23,903-hectare mining area on our mineral-rich Great Dyke,” he said.
Mnangagwa said the project’s “phase 1 alone is set to create up to 1,000 jobs for our people”.
“This fully compliant agreement—signed on behalf of the government by Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura and Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube—underscores our commitment to transparency, legal certainty, and investor security,” he said.
He added: “We are unlocking our nation’s vast mineral wealth to drive sustainable industrial growth, create decent employment, and uplift communities.”
Developed by Karo Mining Holdings, which is majority-owned by Tharisa, the project is multi-generational and focused on PGMs extraction — mainly platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold.