Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
ZIMBABWE-FOCUSED gold producer Caledonia Mining Corporation (Caledonia) says it expects to maintain the same production levels achieved last year, in 2024 at Blanket Mine in Gwanda.
The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed miner’s chief executive, Mark Learmonth, said after a challenging first half in 2023, the miner successfully met production guidance for the year, producing 75 416 gold ounces.
“Our 2024 guidance of 74 000 to 78 000 ounces assumes that Blanket will broadly maintain the production rate achieved in 2023 and reflects the prudent decision to suspend mining in lower margin areas, which include lower grades and volumes, and higher costs,” Learmonth said in a note on last year’s figures.
“Our significant investment in Blanket over the past seven years and completion of the Central Shaft has nearly doubled production, extended the mine life and allowed the restart of underground exploration in 2023; in July we announced that the Eroica zone persists to depth and grades are significantly higher than previously thought.”
He said the miner will continue to progress with the underground exploration programme.
Exploration results are expected to be published in the first quarter of 2024 and a revised resource statement in the following quarter.
“Our wider capital expenditure programme continues to focus on unlocking value and delivering our multi-asset growth pipeline in Zimbabwe with Motapa and Bilboes, whilst maintaining a disciplined focus on cost and capital allocation,” Learmonth said.
“We continue to progress our feasibility studies for the Bilboes sulphide project with a view to determining the best option for Caledonia stakeholders, and I look forward to providing an update in due course,” he added.
This work, according to the company, includes updating the existing feasibility study for a project producing approximately 170 000 ounces of gold per annum and work on an alternative phased approach to the project.
The budgeted capital expenditure for the group in 2024 is US$34,4 million, which includes planned exploration at Motapa and further work on the Bilboes feasibility studies.
“Anticipated group capital expenditure of US$34,4 million includes approximately US$20 million of sustaining investment (which is included in all-in sustaining cost guidance) and US$14,4 million of expansion expenditure, which includes investment in a new tailings storage facility with a life of approximately 12 years and further underground development.
“Expansion expenditure also includes US$2 million on preliminary exploration at Motapa and US$3,5 million on further work on the Bilboes feasibility studies,” Caledonia said.
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