HARARE – Tharisa Plc says it had US$213.9m cash on hand and net cash of US$101.1m at the end of its first quarter for year 2023 ended 31 December 2022 with a significant amount coming from the fully consolidated recent capital raise on the Victoria Falls Exchange (VFEX).
Tharisa, a South Africa based PGM and chrome co-producer, listed US$50m on the VFEX to partly fund the building of its 70% owned Karo platinum mine in Zimbabwe’s Mhondoro Ngezi district, near the site of Impala Platinum’s Zimplats operations.
During the quarter, Tharisa began work on its Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe and raised US$31.8m in bonds listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange which will be put towards the project which requires a total of $391 million.
“The quarter also saw significant progress in the development of Karo Platinum, which will be our second Tier 1 PGM asset, with groundbreaking and the commencement of the development of the necessary infrastructure and mine construction, supported by the first bond issue on VFEX in Zimbabwe.”
Karo is majority owned by Tharisa, an integrated PGM and chrome producer listed on main boards of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), with a main operating asset, Tharisa Mine, situated in the North West Province of South Africa.
Tharisa plans to invest US$391 million to complete phase 1 of the Karo project in Zimbabwe in the next 24 months after taking full control of the platinum mine.
Tharisa had a cash balance of US$213.9 million (30 September 2022 US$143.4 million) at the end of the quarter, and debt of US$112.8 million (30 September 2022 US$64.8 million). The increased cash has resulted in an improved net cash position of US$101.1 million (30 September 2022 US$78.6 million).
