Caledonia on course to be multi-asset gold producer
THE Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed Caledonia Mining Corporation has made significant strides towards establishing itself as a multi-asset gold producer in the country following the acquisition of three mining assets last year.
As it pursues its plan to become a multi-asset gold producer, the firm, which owns Blanket Mine near Gwanda, declared in January last year that it was looking to evolve the business with a strategic shift in Caledonia’s future path.
The company acquired the Maligreen claims in November 2021, and over the course of last year, it made substantial strides in this direction, which culminated in the November 2022 publishing of an updated technical report on Maligreen.
The business stated in July 2022 that it had reached an agreement to buy Bilboes Gold Limited for US$53,3 million. A few months later, the business bought Motapa Mining Company UK Limited, the ultimate holding company of an exploration property located close to Bilboes.
“This was achieved alongside three record quarters of production and we are on track to achieve the top end of our 2022 production guidance of between 73 000 and 80 000 ounces of gold,” Caledonia chief executive Mark Learmonth said, announcing the declaration of a quarterly dividend of US$0,14 on each of the company’s shares.
“The company has come a long way in the last 12 months as we continue to pursue our strategy of becoming a multi-asset gold producer,” he said.
Formerly owned by Anglo American Corporation, Bilboes is a large, high-grade gold deposit located about 75km north of Bulawayo.
Bilboes Gold is owned by Toziyana Resources which controls 50% shareholding, Baker Steel Resources Trust (24%) and Infinite Treasure, with a 26% stake.
Upon successful completion of the transaction, Victor Gapare, a prominent Zimbabwean mining entrepreneur who controls Toziyana Resources, is expected to be appointed executive director of Caledonia.
Caledonia considers Motapa to be highly prospective and strategically important to its growth ambitions in Zimbabwe in terms of both location and scale.
The project has a mining lease that covers around 2 200 hectares.
The majority of the second half of the 20th century was spent mining the Motapa asset, and according to Caledonia, up to 300 000 ounces of gold were produced during that period.
Even though there is no longer any mining infrastructure, Caledonia said traces of past mining will help its exploration team better grasp the prospectivity of the area.-newsday
