By: Reuters

Tharisa Plc THST.L said on Thursday its Zimbabwe unit has agreed a deal to sell platinum concentrate to Valterra Platinum VALJ.J ahead of first production at the Karo project, expected next year.

Tharisa, an integrated platinum group metal (PGM) and chrome producer operating in South Africa, is developing the Karo platinum project in Zimbabwe, where it expects to produce 226,000 ounces of PGMs annually in phase one.

The offtake contract has an initial term of five years, Tharisa said in a statement.

"Securing a concentrate purchase agreement with a partner of Valterra's standing ... is a significant milestone for Karo Platinum, providing offtake certainty as we advance the project towards first production," said Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis.

Valterra, the world's largest PGM refiner, runs a smelter at its Unki mine in Zimbabwe, about 200 km (124 miles) from Karo.

Zimbabwe's other PGM producers, including Impala Platinum IMPJ.J and Sibanye Stillwater SSWJ.J, mostly smelt concentrates locally and ship matte to South African refineries for final processing into metals mainly used in autocatalysts.

The deal follows Karo's 25-year special mining lease agreement with the government of Zimbabwe on August 24, a key step in advancing the project.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya, Editing by Louise Heavens)