DT Correspondent
Karo Mining Holdings, a platinum group metals (PGM) producer listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange announced that its mining operations have reached a significant milestone by operating for over 1 million hours without a fatality.
The achievement showcases the company’s commitment to prioritising the safety and well-being of its employees.
In its audited abridged group results for the year ending September 30, 2023, Karo Mining reported employing more than 800 people for its plant construction and pilot mining stage.
The project is located on the Great Dyke in Mhondoro-Ngezi, Mashonaland West Province.
“As of September 30, 2023, Karo Platinum employed 846 people on site, with the majority of employees being drawn from the local community. The safety and health of all employees on the Karo Project site is of paramount importance. Karo is proud to report that by the end of September 2023, the project had run fatality-free for 1,022,744 hours,” stated Karo Mining.
According to the company’s report, Karo successfully raised US$36.8 million (excluding transaction costs) through a US dollar-denominated structured debt instrument listed on the VFEX.
These funds were used to partially finance Phase 1 of the Karo Platinum Project.
Additionally, the parent company injected an additional US$65 million in equity during the period to support the project’s working capital requirements.
Karo Mining initiated bulk earthworks and civil construction in December 2022, with the first concrete being poured in June 2023.
In the same month, open pit pilot mining operations began to optimize mining methods and produce ore for further testing and refining of metallurgical processing. Once at full capacity, Karo will process approximately 2.5 million tons of ore per annum, yielding 190,000 ounces of platinum group metals (on a 6E basis) annually.
Due to the prevailing price environment for PGMs, the commissioning timeline has been reviewed.
The company now plans to achieve “First ore in mill” (FOIM) in June 2025.
To ensure continued development aligned with funding availability, the project work streams have been divided into smaller commitments.
