Zimbabwe's Darwendale Platinum Project Restarts with US$100 Million Financing

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 6, Zimbabwe's Mutapa Platinum Group confirmed that the Darwendale platinum group metals project has completed a US$100 million financing arrangement, with the related funds already beginning to be disbursed and construction of the project's first phase simultaneously commencing. Company CEO Munashe Shava stated that civil works for the concentrator began in mid-September, with the first-phase construction period expected to last approximately 12 months, targeting full production around the same time in 2027.

The first phase of development adopts an open-pit mining plan, with the scope of works including mining operations, a concentrator, tailings storage facilities, a water supply system, and supporting infrastructure. The front end of the concentrator is being built to process 1.2 million tonnes of ore per year, with a flotation circuit processing 600,000 tonnes per year initially configured for the first phase; subsequently, by adding a second flotation circuit, the processing capacity will be increased to 1.2 million tonnes per year without the need to rebuild the front-end system.

Mutapa has adjusted the Darwendale development plan to phased implementation. In the project's early stages, it was advanced as a large-scale underground mine plan, but was stalled for a long time due to financing issues; in 2025, the project party shifted to prioritizing the development of the open-pit orebody to reduce first-phase capital requirements. With the completion of this round of US$100 million financing, the project has moved from the financing and planning stage into on-site construction.

The Darwendale project has platinum group metals resources of approximately 44 million ounces. Mutapa plans to continue expanding processing capacity after the first phase is commissioned, with a long-term goal of increasing ore processing scale to approximately 5 million tonnes per year within five years. Subsequent expansion will shift to underground mining, with plans to build two underground mines, while continuing exploration to the south of the existing resource area.