Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
CALEDONIA Mining Corporation (Caledonia) is upbeat on the stability seen in Zimbabwe over the past year, which allowed it to set a new production record at Blanket Mine during the quarter ended June 30, 2021, leading to a 31 percent increase in revenues.
After suffering its second episode of hyperinflation in 2020, the southern African nation’s economy has been relatively stable for more than 12 months now, with inflation falling from a peak of 838 percent last July to 56 percent last month.
Caledonia chief executive Steve Curtis
Caledonia’s chief financial officer, Mark Learmonth, told an online shareholders’ briefing last week that Zimbabwe was even more stable than its neighbour and biggest trading partner, South Africa.
“Zimbabwe is an infinitely more stable environment than South Africa. The current regime is much more rational and much more open to rational engagement. We get regular updates of what is happening behind the scenes and Zimbabwe has stabilised significantly over the past couple of years and months,” Learmonth said.
Chief executive Steve Curtis said the recent export incentives announced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe were what the industry had been asking for, applauding the government’s pro-business policies.
“The currency auction has stabilised the currency regime. We have an administration that realises the importance of business to thrive. The incentives for exporters…. Those are things we have been fighting for, for a while,” Curtis said.
Meanwhile, the company reported gross revenues of US$30 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, a 31 per cent increase on the US$22,9 million achieved in the second quarter of 2020.
Gross profit was reported at US$13,9 million, a 51 per cent increase on the US$9,2 million in Q2 2020. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (excluding asset impairments, net foreign exchange gains and losses and export incentives) were at US$14 million, a 103 per cent increase on the US$6.9 million in Q2 2020. On-mine cost fell to US$715 per ounce from the Q2 2020 figure of US$811 per ounce.
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